Griffin of the Bucks remains silent amid the heated exchange between him and Antetokounmpo
It might not mean much at all—coaches and elite athletes occasionally differ—but it was noteworthy nonetheless.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was replaced by coach Adrian Griffin midway through the third quarter of the Bucks’ Wednesday loss to the Celtics. However, when the superstar arrived at the sidelines, he stayed at the scorer’s table, spoke with Griffin, and returned to the game at the next dead ball. After the game, Antetokounmpo declined to talk about the incident. According to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Griffin stated this.
“I wanted to give him a break, but he wanted to stay in.” That was all there was to it, Griffin remarked later. “And then I told him to stay at the table for one possession, and he got right back out there.”
Perhaps this is insignificant; conflicts arise between coaches and elite athletes on a regular basis. It’s something to keep an eye on going forward, though, as a new coach takes over a team that has title hopes but hasn’t played at that level from the beginning. Perhaps this isn’t just a sideline argument over playing time if there are additional indications of conflict in the future.
With their 119-116 victory, Boston proved to be the superior team at the moment. Though we shouldn’t draw too much from a November meeting because both teams will change if they play in the playoffs in May, it appeared clear that the Bucks’ defense would find it difficult to stop the Celtics’ five-out offense led by Kristaps Porzingis. The good news for the Bucks was that they did rally late in the game to bring it close, and we witnessed once more how Lillard switches gears and takes command of their offense in crucial situations. Additionally, whenever Lillard, Antetokounmpo, or Brook Lopez ran pick-and-roll plays, Boston was at a loss for a response. Although there were intriguing suggestions about the nature of a seven-game playoff series between these clubs, Boston is still the team to beat in the East at the moment.
