Woj - Bucks choose Griffin/add Stotts/Prunty

[Matches Malone]

Read on Twitter

[paulpressey25]

That's really a nice piece of PR from Horst. Now the question is when did Wes Edens put out the call to Terry Stotts, and was getting Stotts onboard a condition of announcing the hiring of Griffin?

[-Jragon-]

The two biggest things Giannis can/needs to do to maximize his game and make his life easier are:

1) Get back to being a consistent +70% FT shooter (you know it's possible because he did it for damn near 6 straight seasons to start his career)

2) Passing quicker out of double-teams and drive & kick situations.

Both are actually fixable and neither require him to abandon the "4 out and drive to the basket" offense that, you know, most often works because he's a bigger, longer Lebron with a full head of steam. Obviously you want him to mix it up, search out mismatches, occasionally cut off-ball and such, but the shot data doesn't support this idea that simply letting him catch the ball closer to the post or baseline is this recipe for more efficient offense.

He's historically been terrible from 3-10 feet (36% career), and despite being Top-10 in post-up volume this last season (3.4 per game), he was just a 54th percentile guy (0.97 PPP) and that pretty much jives with his career numbers (FYI, he was a downright awful 0.80 PPP on post-ups during the 2021 playoff run). And then, there's this:

Giannis as the pick & roll ball-handler this season: 1.05 PPP, 87th percentile efficiency.

Less post-ups. More Giannis as the ball-handler on 4/5 (or Giannis high-low screens with your best shooter) pick & rolls.

Post ups aren't the answer for Giannis offensively, but I think a big thing for Giannis is HOW he is receiving the ball. Ideally, he should be catching while already moving towards the rim, not a static catch (which is a HUGE Giannis issue in general, he bogs stuff down by being a slow decision maker or catching and holding and letting defenses load up on him which is a testament to how good he is that he is still so efficient and effective). That means more actions where he is the roll man, the guy curling in delay action and not just the handoff guy, more zoom action, more spain ball screens, more pindowns with shooters screening to free him, what we were doing under Bud was like an exercise in making the offense as rudimentary/simple as possible.

Either way this year and next are a litmus test for Giannis offensively IMO. Either his game changes for the better, or if we see the same approach it will confirm that the lack of creativity in the Bud Era was due to Giannis being unable/unwilling to do anything beyond his best young Lebron in Cleveland impersonation.

Because that in motion catch Love or whoever is still going to get a charge out of it. Then it will be on tape how to easily stop it just like the bowling ball drive.

There's zero reasons that someone of Giannis's length and a few pump fakes can't get a couple moves that get him leaning around guys for little Hakeem flips. Plus his assists will go up because those are easier passes. It's just footwork and pump fakes. He's too good to settle for fade away 9 footers over hands out of the post. Him and Khris (and the fans) need to swallow their pride and do what's best for the team now or it will be constant early exits. Up and under stuff like what Brook does should be all open and available for Giannis too. Kobe could post like anyone in the league at like 4-5" shorter --- get in the gym and learn footwork.. get the tapes out.

[-Jragon-]

Most of you won't get this for some reason but often slowing down on offense is better than speeding up.. Griff and Stotts need to slow the stars down and not let a dinosaur like Love be able to stop him so easy. Anything to the hoop with Giannis needs to be disguised and not the only option.

Or changing speeds.. slow/ fast or fast slow can work but fast/fast is a 1st round exit

[emunney]

Phil Jackson would make Giannis read Sun Tzu and an intro to game theory book.

[Daver]

The two biggest things Giannis can/needs to do to maximize his game and make his life easier are:

1) Get back to being a consistent +70% FT shooter (you know it's possible because he did it for damn near 6 straight seasons to start his career)

2) Passing quicker out of double-teams and drive & kick situations.

Both are actually fixable and neither require him to abandon the "4 out and drive to the basket" offense that, you know, most often works because he's a bigger, longer Lebron with a full head of steam. Obviously you want him to mix it up, search out mismatches, occasionally cut off-ball and such, but the shot data doesn't support this idea that simply letting him catch the ball closer to the post or baseline is this recipe for more efficient offense.

He's historically been terrible from 3-10 feet (36% career), and despite being Top-10 in post-up volume this last season (3.4 per game), he was just a 54th percentile guy (0.97 PPP) and that pretty much jives with his career numbers (FYI, he was a downright awful 0.80 PPP on post-ups during the 2021 playoff run). And then, there's this:

Giannis as the pick & roll ball-handler this season: 1.05 PPP, 87th percentile efficiency.

Less post-ups. More Giannis as the ball-handler on 4/5 (or Giannis high-low screens with your best shooter) pick & rolls.

Post ups aren't the answer for Giannis offensively, but I think a big thing for Giannis is HOW he is receiving the ball. Ideally, he should be catching while already moving towards the rim, not a static catch (which is a HUGE Giannis issue in general, he bogs stuff down by being a slow decision maker or catching and holding and letting defenses load up on him which is a testament to how good he is that he is still so efficient and effective). That means more actions where he is the roll man, the guy curling in delay action and not just the handoff guy, more zoom action, more spain ball screens, more pindowns with shooters screening to free him, what we were doing under Bud was like an exercise in making the offense as rudimentary/simple as possible.

Either way this year and next are a litmus test for Giannis offensively IMO. Either his game changes for the better, or if we see the same approach it will confirm that the lack of creativity in the Bud Era was due to Giannis being unable/unwilling to do anything beyond his best young Lebron in Cleveland impersonation.

Because that in motion catch Love or whoever is still going to get a charge out of it. Then it will be on tape how to easily stop it just like the bowling ball drive.

There's zero reasons that someone of Giannis's length and a few pump fakes can't get a couple moves that get him leaning around guys for little Hakeem flips. Plus his assists will go up because those are easier passes. It's just footwork and pump fakes. He's too good to settle for fade away 9 footers over hands out of the post. Him and Khris (and the fans) need to swallow their pride and do what's best for the team now or it will be constant early exits. Up and under stuff like what Brook does should be all open and available for Giannis too. Kobe could post like anyone in the league at like 4-5" shorter --- get in the gym and learn footwork.. get the tapes out.

Great post absolutely spot on.4 key words there get in the gym.Agree giannis you talk every year about wanting to improve your game.....well put your money where your mouth is n improve(J low post mid range fts)other playerz have show us you wanna be the best

[-Jragon-]

Watch on YouTube

Like why not? These are the same moves Giannis already does just from closer and without charges.

I hope Stotts and Griff take it this direction.

[WiscoKing13]

Only big questions I have left. Status of the training staff? Worked under Thibs and Nurse, so are our starters playing 45 min every night?

Sent from my SM-G991U using RealGM Forums mobile app

[Daver]

Watch on YouTube

Like why not? These are the same moves Giannis already does just from closer and without charges.

I hope Stotts and Griff take it this direction.

Watched the video i agree why not why cant giannis do those moves down low instead of thst stupid ass 3 pt shot.Damn the dream was smooth

[Daver]

Only big questions I have left. Status of the training staff? Worked under Thibs and Nurse, so are our starters playing 45 min every night?

Sent from my SM-G991U using RealGM Forums mobile app

Not even close but low to mid 30s would be nice i would expect close to same minutes last year maybe not as much load managing maybe

[WiscoKing13]

According to Bucks.com we had 9 assistants last year. We have confirmed 2 out of 9 are staying.

1 is Giannis guy and 1 is a legacy Bucks player who has a great relationship with Brook(Reminder he's a FA, we might want to not piss him off).

Also the lead assistant who is coming in has zero connection to the FO or ownership

But sure let's take Gery at his word....

Sent from my SM-G991U using RealGM Forums mobile app

[jimmybones]

I think the issue is that Giannis attacking from the top of the key works amazingly during the regular season because most teams don’t have the personnel to build a wall that can stop him.

But then when they run into teams that do (Raptors in 19, Heat in 20, Celtics last year, and Heat this year), they have more often than not, not had a plan B or even if they did they (such as the Midds/Brook PnR) they didn’t stick with it and eventually go back to Giannis at the top of the key.

The only time they did have a plan B, when they moved Giannis to getting more touches on post ups and using him to screen for Midds, it got them a title. Although some of that was also matchup luck because the Nets couldn’t build a wall, Giannis missed the end of the Hawks series so they had to run other stuff, and the Suns didn’t have the personnel and Gianni’s’ knee wasn’t right so they took the ball out of his hands some when initiating the offense.

Personally, I think Giannis initiating the offense from the top of the key needs to be abandoned in playoff series against certain teams. That is what needs to be reigned in. If you want to ISO Gianni’s, that’s fine but do a side ISO after forcing a switch and have SOME action off ball.

This. When I say I have issue with the “ram your head against a wall” offense is not with a desire to reign in Giannis completely. He’s a unicorn, a beautiful unique unicorn who needs to be allowed to run free. And when it works it’s majestic (and more importantly efficient offense).

I just want a semblance of a coherent plan B when we face teams with the ability and intelligence to deploy a plan to contain that. That’s when it becomes ramming your head against a wall. When the other team is prepared for it, it’s clearly not working, and we (he) keep doing it.

Crazy analogy but if you have a Ferrari, you occasionally want to let loose with it otherwise what’s the point in having it. Do that in an open road, not in a school zone.

To be fair, I don’t think it’s a simple task for a coach to figure out how to teach him when to go and when to proceed with caution. But it’s my opinion that any coach that can do that is potentially unlocking GA next phase of his evolution.

Giannis is incredible. But it’s painful to watch him try to will his way to the basket when it’s not working because the opposition has a good plan to stop it. I don’t think it’s asking a lot to expect to see a diverse plan b and c.

[drone3]

Horst was ridiculously smooth in the presser, Griff a little nervous but he will get there.

The keyword I took out of it was "collaboration" Griff is humble enough that he will lean on others if he's unsure and I think that's where Stotts comes in specifically on O.

[jimmybones]

Some things I'm hoping to hear about in today's presser

-What is Adrian Griffin's offensive philosophy?
-What kind of defensive base scheme does Griffin want to employ?
-Does he believe in playing starters more or less minutes in the Regular season?
-How does he go about developing young players and making sure they get enough minutes to develop?
-What does he see changing with Giannis's role?
-What kind of investigation did the Bucks do into the DV allegations?
-Was Khris actually at the meeting?
-Was Jrue invited and/or at the meeting?
-Is next season considered Title or Bust next season?

LOL if only.

Questions to actually expect at the presser:

- Is it true you used to play for the Bucks?
- What was that like?
- Have you ever gone to a Packers game at Lambeau?
- Are you excited to coach a player like Giannis?

Don't forget 'do you remember we have a Lake AND a river??
- Do you need the password to get in to Safehouse?
- Bronze fonz much?
- What is your favorite Summerfest stage?

coach do u like cheese curds thanks I’ll hang up and listen

[-Jragon-]

Watch on YouTube

Like why not? These are the same moves Giannis already does just from closer and without charges.

I hope Stotts and Griff take it this direction.

Watched the video i agree why not why cant giannis do those moves down low instead of thst stupid ass 3 pt shot.Damn the dream was smooth

The other benefit is he catches it in a threatening spot whilst still having his dribble which gives him extra options that he doesn't get during a drive:

Jab step, pump fake and still dribble freedom

[humanrefutation]

“Through extensive background and reference work — we did advance analytics on coaching profiles and staff profiles,” Horst said. “We really spent a ton of time in the interview process. We targeted 20 or so folks to start, conducted 15 or so first-round interviews, reduced it down to a group of six or so people for a second round of interviews and ultimately a finalist group that met with our ownership, met with the business side of the Bucks, the performance group, our players and ultimately our ownership.

“We all landed on Adrian Griffin as being the candidate that we recommended to take this job. With his character, his leadership presence, his varied experiences working for great coaches over the past 15 years in the NBA, almost a decade’s worth of playing experience playing with great players, playing for great coaches, it was clear to us that Adrian was the right hire.”

“He impressed every step of the way, first through our reference work and our background work,” Horst said. “You literally talk to ushers in arenas, you talk to ex-teammates, you talk to ex-coaches that he’s coached with, and everyone was just emphatic about the person that Adrian is, about the work ethic that Adrian has, about his relationship-building qualities with players and staff.

“And then we interview him, and he blew us away in the interview. And then we bring him back for a second interview, and we get to the chalk talk and get on the board and watch the film, and he blows us away again. Then he meets with our staff: the front-office staff, the medical staff and the business side. Players. Ownership. And he blows them away again. And then he’s in the big moment. You’re the guy that needs to go for the final interview with the owners. Like, don’t mess it up, right? And he did it again. There’s a lot more detail to it than that, probably, but on a high level, he’s just impressed every step of the way both in person and in the environment around him.”

Going into the process, Horst even conceded there was probably an internal bias toward someone who had done the job before and had previous NBA head-coaching experience, yet Griffin still won out.

“There was probably a bias internally that made me think they would probably have some head-coaching experience in the package, but I didn’t allow that bias to overrun our process in any way,” Horst said. “And what became clear to me and evident throughout the process, and I think something we’ve learned — and we’ll see how it works out — is head-coaching experience is one level of experience, but NBA experience is another incredibly valuable level of experience, and there’s really no one that we spent time with that’s more experienced than Adrian Griffin to be a head coach in the NBA.

It's definitely PR, but I also think it demonstrates that, at the very least, the Bucks did their due diligence on Griff (and everyone else they interviewed).

[Ron Swanson]

Watch on YouTube

Like why not?

Do you mean why he couldn't be born with all-time great shooting touch like Hakeem Olajuwon?

[RiotPunch]

These are all good Cs but I kind of feel like competence should be a given?

Read on Twitter

The best 'C' was Counters. We will have a counter for everything thrown at us.

Presser was a mixed bag. I'm very optimistic, but it was cringe at times. Public speaking is a small part of the deal, though, so a guy failing to come up with the word "lightly" isn't that concerning.

[German Athens]

These are all good Cs but I kind of feel like competence should be a given?

Read on Twitter

The best 'C' was Counters. We will have a counter for everything thrown at us.

Presser was a mixed bag. I'm very optimistic, but it was cringe at times. Public speaking is a small part of the deal, though, so a guy failing to come up with the word "lightly" isn't that concerning.

It’s better than hit the ground like a rocket ship. I though he acquitted himself just fine. He was anxious in his first press conference as head coach, but he’ll get better as he gets more experience with them. Hell, look at Horst.

[-Jragon-]

Watch on YouTube

Like why not?

Do you mean why he couldn't be born with all-time great shooting touch like Hakeem Olajuwon?

Giannis is more skilled overall in dribbling and passing. H.O. would fade away from double teams pretty deep.. I think Giannis can pass and not need 10 footers as much.