NBA Fans Stunned, Baffled by Adrian Griffin's Firing as Bucks HC, Doc Rivers Rumors

Not even two straight wins and the NBA's second-best record was enough to save Adrian Griffin's job.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Milwaukee Bucks fired Griffin on Tuesday and are already on the search for a starry name for his replacement. Doc Rivers has been mentioned as an early potential favorite.

The news sent shockwaves across social media:

Griffin, hired last summer to replace Mike Budenholzer, led the Bucks to a 30-13 record. However, despite the strong record and boasting one of the league's highest-powered offenses, the Bucks have struggled on the defensive end. Milwaukee currently ranks 22nd in defensive rating, and star Giannis Antetokounmpo has called out his team's effort on multiple occasions.

"We have to be better. In order for us to win, we have to be better. We cannot just rely on our offense of scoring 130 points, 140 points every single night. It's not going to work that way," Antetokounmpo told reporters earlier this month.

Even with the team's growing pains on the defensive end, Griffin's firing is essentially unprecedented. While some will point to David Blatt's midseason firing in Cleveland during the 2015-16 season, Blatt was in his second year as the Cavaliers' head coach. Griffin barely got half of a season to prove himself before being given the axe.

That said, there has been something seemingly amiss about Griffin's tenure from the beginning. The Bucks hired longtime NBA coach Terry Stotts to be his lead assistant, only for Stotts to resign in October after a verbal altercation with Griffin.

Antetokounmpo's displays of public frustration were also out of character, and one has to wonder whether they were done to send a message to the front office. If that's the case, message clearly received.