Something unexpected in Milwaukee + A Wednesday Surprise

The Milwaukee Bucks surprised us all on Tuesday… Well, everyone except Doc Rivers might have been surprised.

We’ll dig into the Bucks’s midseason move, some other NBA moves, and a little surprise for your winter Wednesday.

Bucks Fire Head Coach

The Milwaukee Bucks are 30-13 and sit in 2nd place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. On Tuesday, the team fired their head coach, Adrian Griffin, in a very surprising move. As good as the Bucks’ record is, many don’t think they are reaching their full potential. The defense is shaky, the offense isn’t as efficient as it could be, and it really comes down to who’s hot for one night. Is Dame going to score or will Giannis take over for the night, heck, even Khris Middleton has had to ball out just so the Bucks could sneak by a team with a win.

This firing seems to be about more than just a record. The Bucks’ organization is expecting greatness, and they want a great system that produces the results, not just a good record that might not get the team deep into the postseason. The Bucks seemingly want someone with a fresh perspective and fresh schemes to get the necessary production and lasting results out of a not-so-young team.

The most surprising thing about this is that Doc Rivers seems to be the front-runner in the head coach conversation. He consulted for the team as an advisor earlier this year and may have just advised himself into a promotion.

As we were getting ready to send this out today, it’s being reported that Doc Rivers has agreed to become the next head coach of the Bucks. More details to come.

Miami Heat Make Moves

The Charlotte Hornets have officially given up on the season and are getting ready to revamp this team. Charlotte has traded Terry Rozier, who is averaging 23.2 points per game and is sending him to the Miami Heat in return for Kyle Lowry and a 2027 first-round draft pick.

Why would Miami make this trade? Well, the Heat save ~$6 mil in salary for this season and get Rozier for another year, and he’s eight years younger than Lowry. Miami is getting themselves ready for another postseason run, and adding a younger player who is at his statistical prime could be the extra juice they need.

Why would Charlotte take this trade? Well, for starters, you get the draft pick, and they’ll likely be able to flip Kyle Lowry for something before the Feb 8 trade deadline.

The Hornets are 10-31 and have the 3rd worst record in the Eastern Conference. Let’s see who they add to help out LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller.

Triple Double Tuesdays

We didn’t have a repeat of the high scorers from Monday night, but last night brought us two triple-doubles.

🏀 Nikola Jokic scored 31 points, had 10 assists and 13 rebounds in a 114-109 win over the Indiana Pacers

🏀 Kawhi Leonard got a triple-double in a little LA vs LA action where the Clippers defeated the Lakers 127-116. Leonard finished with 25 points, 10 assists, and 11 rebounds.

Fourteen In A Refinery Row

The Edmonton Oilers’ blood is thicker than the petroleum products the city is known for producing on refinery row. Edmonton has been rolling since their coaching change early in the season, and the Oilers beat the Columbus Blue Jackets last night and recorded their 14th straight win.

The Oilers were tied up with the Blue Jackets 1-1 entering the third period last night. Evander Kane, Connor McDavid, and Dylan Holloway all scored in the final period to help the Oilers become the seventh team in NHL history to win 14 in a row. The Oilers are 22-3 in their last 25 games 🤯.

Torrey Pines On A Wednesday

The golf gods have gifted us on a winter Wednesday. Thanks to the NFL and the conference championships being played on a Sunday, CBS and the PGA Tour moved the Famers Insurance Open to start on a Wednesday instead of your traditional Thursday tee-off. So this week, we get golf Wednesday-Saturday, and then we’re gifted with 6 hours of NFL football on Sunday.

The event occurs at Torrey Pines, one of the United States’ premier muni courses, as it provides stunning views of the Pacific Ocean on both its North and South courses. Both courses will be used for the first two rounds, and then the South course will be played on Friday and Saturday. The North Course is a par 72 that is 7,258 yards, and the South Course is a par 72 that stretches an additional 400 yards and totals out at 7,765 yards.

The field includes big names like Max Homa, Jason Day, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, and Tony Finau. The winner of the tournament will receive the $1.62 million of the total $9 million purse.

ESPN+ will be streaming the action starting around Noon ET each day. You can also catch the action on your normal broadcasts. Check out the schedule below.

📺️ Wednesday & Thursday, 3-7 pm ET on The Golf Channel

📺️ Friday, 3-5 pm ET on The Golf Channel and 5-8 pm ET on CBS

📺️ Saturday, 2-4 pm ET on The Golf Channel and 4-8 pm ET on CBS

That’s all for today. We’ll be back tomorrow with more sporting news!

-The Daily Breakroom