Milwaukee Bucks shot-caller Adrian Griffin got the first ejection of his career as a head coach on Thursday night. This was after the first-year coach got called for two quick technical fouls in the third quarter in what turned out to be a heartbreaking 126-124 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
While there’s really no way to tell, it’s very much possible that Griffin’s presence in the end may have made a difference on the outcome of the game.
Milwaukee Bucks Head Coach Adrian Griffin Speaks Out on Ejection
Griffin wasn’t happy with how the game officials missed what seemed like an obvious foul on Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks coach let his feelings known to the refs — a bit too much at that — and it led to his ejection.
After the game, Coach Griff admitted that his ejection was brought about by his decision to stand up for his superstar:
“I thought Giannis was getting hit quite a bit and I voiced my opinion,” Griffin said. “Next time I will do it in a little bit more delicate way.”
It is important to note that Griffin himself came out to say that he feels that he let Giannis down on Wednesday after the two-time MVP was ejected against the Detroit Pistons. Coach Griff said that he needed to protect Antetokounmpo more, which is exactly what he did on Thursday against Indiana.
The 49-year-old doubled down on having his superstar’s back as he discussed his ejection against Indiana:
“He’s such a great human being and he doesn’t complain,” Griffin said. “He has the utmost respect for the ref. I do feel responsible at times to just voice it. Obviously, your voice is choice and you have to be mindful of that. But it is my responsibility to just make sure that he’s protected out there. … I just want to protect him out there, that’s all.”
"I thought Giannis was getting hit quite a bit and I voiced my opinion. Next time I will do it in a little bit more delicate way." #Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin addressed the media after his ejection in the loss to the Pacers. #FearTheDeer | #NBA pic.twitter.com/rsvIJkLqKV
— Bally Sports Wisconsin (@BallySportWI) November 10, 2023
I’m pretty sure Giannis loved the energy from his coach here.
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