The Milwaukee Bucks have an excess of talent heading into this upcoming season. New coach, the same star, a different supporting cast, and now, with the addition of Damian Lillard, there has never been a better time to be a Bucks fan.
With NBA Media Day on Monday, everyone was eager to hear from the Big 3 (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Lillard.) One person who will be just as vital in making sure the team is playing as a cohesive bunch is new Head Coach Adrian Griffin.
Griffin previously served as top lieutenant to now Sixers Head Coach Nick Nurse. The pair spent five seasons together and won a championship. Now, the two will be competing against each other in the Eastern Conference.
There was some trepidation about hiring Griffin, who is a first-time coach, to lead the Milwaukee Bucks, who are favorites to win it all after acquiring Damian Lillard.
But after hearing his quote about the main difference between him and Mike Budenholzer, Bucks fans should be excited for the new head coach.
Milwaukee Bucks Head Coach Adrian Griffin outlines one adjustment he will make as the team’s head coach.
Milwaukee Bucks Head Coach Adrian Griffin on what he expects of the team this upcoming season.
“We are going to know our opponent better than they know us.” Griffin said.
Griffin’s coaching philosophy brings a different element to the Bucks because the offense isn’t his specialty. He has two high-level assistants, Joe Prunty (who served as an assistant in Milwaukee) and Terry Stotts (who coached in Milwaukee and coached Damian Lillard.) In the regular season under Mike Budenholzer, Milwaukee could get away with playing their style because having Giannis, Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton, and Brook Lopez could get any team 45-50 wins. In the postseason, Budenholzer got exposed as a coach who couldn’t adjust, especially in that Miami series, where they were content to stick Jrue Holiday on Jimmy Butler in single-coverage despite how well Butler had been playing that whole series.
Two things to look out for this upcoming season for new Milwaukee Bucks Head Coach Adrian Griffin
Something to look out for this upcoming season will be Giannis’ attempts from three. Budenholzer gave Giannis a lot of freedom to take wide-open three-point shots. Despite his poor percentage in that area. Will Adrian Griffin give Giannis the same leeway that Coach Bud did? It’ll be interesting to see if Giannis still has that greenlight to shoot from outside.
The other one is how minutes will be allocated this season? Budenholzer tended to play Antetokounmpo, Middleton, and Lopez 32-34 minutes per game. Will Adrian Griffin stretch out the minutes for his stars to 35-38? Nick Nurse played VanVleet and Siakam for 36.7 minutes and 37.4 minutes, respectively, for Toronto last season. Will Adrian Griffin take on that new philosophy? It’ll be interesting to see how a new head coach juggles the minutes between his four stars.
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