Milwaukee Bucks fires coach Adrian Griffin

The Bucks plan to search for a replacement from a small pool of experienced and available coaches, with Doc Rivers near the top of the list, sources told ESPN.

the The Milwaukee Bucks fired head coach Adrian Griffin in the first seasonThe team announced Tuesday.

the Dollars They plan to quickly search from a small pool of experienced and available coaches Doc Rivers is near the top of the listSources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

“This was a difficult decision to make during the offseason,” Bucks general manager Jon Horst said in a statement. “We are working immediately to hire our next coach. We thank Coach Griffin for his hard work and contributions to the team.”

Veteran assistant Joe Prunty takes over as interim coach. Milwaukee hosts Cleveland on Wednesday.

the Dollars They hired Griffin over the summer to replace longtime coach Mike Budenholzer, who was fired after Milwaukee's first-round exit in the postseason last year. After months of renting, the Bucks made a deal to acquire him Damian LillardWhich puts pressure on the franchise to achieve a big win this season.

milwaukee It is 30-13 entering Tuesday's games and in second place in the Eastern Conference; Which It is the best winning percentage for a fired coach in one season since David Blatt with the Cavaliers in the 2015-2016 season..

But despite the impressive record, The Bucks have struggled at times, especially on the defensive end. They fell from fourth in defense last season to 22nd this year and have just given up 141 and 122 points in back-to-back games against the team. Detroit Pistons.

Griffin, 49, spent 16 seasons as an assistant in the NBA, including the last five seasons with the Toronto Raptors. This came after nine years of playing in the NBA.