Doc Rivers Said He Told Bucks He Didn't Understand Why Team Was Firing Adrian Griffin

Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers told team ownership that he didn't understand why the team fired his predecessor, Adrian Griffin.

Rivers made the remarks during an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio's The Starting Lineup with Frank Isola and Ryan McDonough.

Milwaukee fired Griffin, a first-year head coach, despite a 30-13 start. Interim coach Joe Prunty led the team to a 2-1 mark before Rivers took over. The Bucks have struggled thus far under Rivers, going 3-7.

There have been numerous reports on why the Bucks fired Griffin, but this note from Shams Charania, Sam Amick and Eric Nehm of The Athletic just about sums it up:

"It was born out of months of underwhelming play with internal concerns growing about the severe decline of their once-elite defense, the flawed use of newcomer Damian Lillard alongside franchise centerpiece Giannis Antetokounmpo and a widespread fear that this group, which was widely expected to contend for a title, was likely to fall short if Milwaukee stood pat."

Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer also added this after the Griffin firing went down.

"Griffin's first year as a head coach has been mired by frayed relationships, a botched defensive system, and head-scratching in-game decisions that made the franchise's star players believe he's not capable of leading them to a championship."

The Bucks entered this season with championship expectations, which has been commonplace ever since Giannis Antetokounmpo emerged as one of the league's best players about five years ago. But they were even bigger this year with the addition of seven-time All-NBA guard Damian Lillard into the mix.

The biggest issue has been on the defensive end, where the team has fallen from fourth in defensive rating last year to 17th this year. Losing Jrue Holiday, a five-time All-Defensive Team member, in the Lillard trade certainly didn't help matters. But the defense has simply collapsed at times this year, to the point where the team is giving up nearly 120 points per game.

Ultimately, these are trying times in Milwaukee, which is on its fourth coach since May after the team fired Mike Budenholzer following a first-round loss to the No. 8 seed Miami Heat.