The Milwaukee Bucks suffered a disappointing end to a promising season on Wednesday night, falling at the hands of Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat. They became just the sixth 1-seed to lose to an 8-seed in NBA Playoff history, and they’ll have plenty of questions to answer this coming off-season. One of the names to watch will be head coach Mike Budenholzer.
Mike Budenholzer Not Safe As Bucks Head Coach, Shams Says
Budenholzer has been at the helm for Milwaukee since 2018, and has an NBA Championship under his belt, as well as two Head Coach of the Year awards in his career. But due to the failures of his team during the first round of the 2023 Playoffs, it appears that he could be on the hot seat heading into the summer.
Max Strus says Erik Spoelstra was confused that Mike Budenholzer didn’t call timeout at the end of regulation
“Spo came into the huddle and he was like 'they didn't call a timeout, what are they doing?'” 😅
(Via @LeBatardShow ) pic.twitter.com/xxDh5YzrIl
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 27, 2023
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Budenholzer’s status as the head coach of the team is “shaky”:
“Mike Budenholzer’s status as head coach of is very much shaky… There are questions across the organization…There’s a feeling of of shock, a feeling of embarrassment right now among the players, because this is not where the season was supposed to end.”
Charania went on to highlight three main reasons for Budenholzer’s job potentially being in jeopardy. One was the lack of adjustments, which was alluded to by Giannis Antetokounmpo after the elimination game. Another was the poor decision making at the end of the game to not call a time-out, allowing the Heat to tie the game and send it into overtime. Budenholzer faced a similar situation in Game 4, and didn’t call a time-out then either, keeping Jimmy Butler’s flame burning through his historic performance.
“Mike Budenholzer’s status as head coach of [the Bucks] is very much shaky… There's a feeling of of shock, a feeling of embarrassment right now among the players… This is not where the season was supposed to end."
—Shams Charania
(via @TheRally)pic.twitter.com/sQUGzqPlDN
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 27, 2023
The third issue has to do with the rotations, and Charania used Jae Crowder as an example. The guy that the team gave up 5 second-round picks for averaged just 10 minutes per game in the series, and received a DNP in one of the contests.
The situation with Mike Budenholzer isn’t the only one to watch with the Bucks this off-season. They have one of the most expensive rosters in the league, with their top-two players each receiving more than $40 million per year. Antetokounmpo is eligible for a contract extension, but there are rumors that he passes on that opportunity given the team’s financial future.
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