The Milwaukee Bucks’ decision to fire Adrian Griffin despite a 30-13 start to the season was surely confusing in some NBA circles, but some of the head coach’s defensive strategies reportedly were as well.

ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Jamal Collier detailed Griffin’s firing and noted his defensive usage of Brook Lopez, who is a two-time All-Defensive selection, “was baffling to those inside the locker room who had been accustomed to top-10 defenses.”

As Shelburne and Collier explained, Griffin preferred a “more aggressive, blitzing style” that featured Lopez playing up against pick-and-rolls instead of dropping back to help protect the rim.

“The Bucks are fourth in deflections per game this season after finishing in 27th last season,” Shelburne and Collier wrote. “But the Bucks also ranked last in field goal percentage at the rim through the first five games of the season, per Second Spectrum.”

It reached a point that Giannis Antetokounmpo, Lopez and Khris Middleton spoke with Griffin about it early in the season.

Milwaukee is now an ugly 21st in the league in defensive rating, per NBA.com. That stands in stark contrast to last season when it was fourth.

Part of that can certainly be explained by losing Jrue Holiday in the trade for Damian Lillard. After all, Holiday is a five-time All-Defensive selection who is widely regarded as one of the best defensive guards of his generation. His ability to guard opponents’ best playmakers while Antetokounmpo and Middleton did much of the heavy lifting on offense is part of what made the Bucks so successful in recent years.

It is also something he is now doing for the Boston Celtics alongside Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

The Bucks’ record may have hidden some issues, as Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated also reported “several Bucks veterans, including Giannis, had lost faith in Griffin. What appeared to be a smart hire last spring just never worked out.”

The team is turning in a different direction with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reporting it is hiring veteran coach Doc Rivers.

Whether he switches the defense remains to be seen, but some players apparently believed a change was necessary.