The Bucks are vindicated

They are still No. 2 in the East, and will be until they beat Boston in the playoffs. But that's an achievement in itself.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

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Banquet of the Amsterdam Civic Guard in Celebration of the Peace of Münster; Bartholomeus van der Helst; 1648

It appears that the Bucks’ decision to replace their head coach despite having a strong record at the midway point of the season has paid off. Milwaukee, despite being 30-13 when the team fired Adrian Griffin, has a much, much better defense under Doc Rivers, having picked a good deal of low-hanging fruit. The Bucks were No. 22 in defense under Griffin. Since Griffin was exiled, Milwaukee is tied for No. 2 in defense. (Tied with the impossibly good Boston Celtics.) That isn’t all Doc — it includes three games with Joe Prunty in the lead chair.

But it is an indication that the Bucks front office, who apparently didn’t know what they were doing when they hired Griffin, did know what they were doing when they brought Doc in to replace him. If ever there was a question of whether coaching matters at the highest level of the sport, with the best, smartest players in the world at hand, these Milwaukee Bucks answer that question. Everything about the team looks and feels different. And, in fairness, there were a lot of Bucks fans who saw just how underserved the team was by Griffin and his staff early in the season, despite all the wins. The writing was on the wall for anyone who could speak the language.

Case in point: on Monday, the Bucks hosted the Clippers.