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Posted on: Might 4, 2023, 09:23h.
Final up to date on: Might 5, 2023, 01:40h.
The Milwaukee Bucks have parted methods with head coach Mike Budenholzer after the top-seeded Bucks have been upset within the first spherical of the Jap Convention playoffs by the #8 Miami Warmth. Former Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is the favourite to grow to be the brand new head coach of the Bucks, and Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon from the WNBA can be on the brief checklist of potential candidates.
The Bucks entered the playoffs because the consensus favourite to win the 2022-23 NBA championship at +265 odds.
Over the last 4 weeks of the common season, the Bucks had overtaken the Boston Celtics because the betting favourite to win the title. The Bucks held off the Celtics to safe the #1 seed within the east. They have been additionally the betting favourite to win the Jap Convention and return to the NBA Finals for a second time within the final three seasons.
The Bucks caught an unfortunate break when MVP candidate Giannis “Greek Freak” Antetokounmpo sustained a again harm within the opening recreation of the playoffs, which finally led to their collapse towards the Warmth.
Two-Time Coach of the 12 months from the Pop Tree
Budenholzer spent 17 seasons as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs below Gregg Popovich. He received 4 NBA championships as an assistant coach with the Spurs earlier than he lastly earned his first head teaching job with the Atlanta Hawks in 2013.
Budenholzer received the NBA Coach of the 12 months with two totally different groups. He initially received the distinguished honor with the Hawks again in 2014-15 when he received 60 video games with a crew that didn’t have a reliable all-star.
In 5 seasons with the Hawks, Budenholzer went 213-197 and led them to 4 playoff appearances. They fired him after a disappointing 2017-18 season by which they missed the playoffs.
Budenholzer was not unemployed for very lengthy earlier than the Bucks snatched him up in the summertime of 2018. He received the NBA Coach of the 12 months in his first season with the Bucks in 2018-19.
Budenholzer led the Bucks to a Central Division crown in 5 consecutive seasons. He posted a 271-120 document, and received over 69% of his regular-season video games throughout his five-year stint in Milwaukee.
Budenholzer nearly misplaced his job as soon as earlier than in 2021, till he guided the Bucks to their first NBA championship in 50 seasons. Successful the title helped save his job. Nevertheless it didn’t present him with a lot job safety, as a result of was fired two years later with two years remaining on his present contract.
Scapegoat After the Bucks Collapse
Budenholzer solely turned the fourth coach in NBA historical past to not return to a crew after securing the perfect document within the league. He joins Pat Riley with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1990, Phil Jackson with the Chicago Bulls in 1998, and Mike Brown with the Cleveland Cavs in 2010.
Firing Budenholzer was an enormous shock, regardless of the unsettling first-round upset by the Warmth. The Bucks entered the sequence as the largest favourite on the board at -1200 odds to knock out the Warmth.
The Warmth crew completed the common season in seventh place, however wanted to outlive the Play-In Match to safe a playoff seed. The Warmth missed an opportunity to lock up the #7 seed after they misplaced to the Atlanta Hawks within the first play-in recreation. They secured the #8 seed with a victory in a second recreation towards the Chicago Bulls.
The Bucks received just one recreation towards the Warmth, which was Sport 2, by which Antetokounmpo didn’t go well with up. The Warmth edged out the Bucks 128-126 in extra time to win Sport 5 and clinch the sequence.
The Bucks have been the perfect crew within the east, however they positively had their share of flaws. The crew had a weak point at capturing guard, however normal supervisor Jon Horst determined to face pat with Grayson Allen as an alternative of making an attempt to bolster their bench with a extra skilled and dependable shooter.
Antetokounmpo missed two video games towards the Warmth due to a again contusion, however was not 100% when he returned. He scored 38 factors and hauled down 20 rebounds in Sport 5. However he additionally missed 13 free throws, together with a number of within the fourth quarter.
Will Nick Nurse Coach the Bucks?
Renown NBA bettor Haralabos Voulgaris shared his ideas on Budenholzer’s abrupt dismissal.
Better of luck discovering a extra modern and profitable coach than Bud,” tweeted Voulgaris. “He’s pioneered so many various strategic changes to the sport that each profitable crew has copied.”
“The choice to make this transformation was very tough,” stated Bucks normal supervisor Jon Horst in a assertion.
The Toronto Raptors fired Nick Nurse on the finish of the season after they went 41-41 and missed the playoffs for a second time within the final three seasons.
Nurse is probably the most coveted head coach who’s presently out there. The Bucks would possibly’ve dismissed Budenholzer so rapidly to get a bounce on hiring Nurse earlier than different groups supply him a job.
“If they’ll get Nurse, that might be a fairly good combo of a brand new voice + nice coach,” added Voulgaris on Twitter.
Nurse received a championship with the Raptors as a rookie head coach in 2018-19. The Raptors struggled after Kawhi Leonard left the subsequent 12 months, when he signed with the Los Angeles Clippers in free company.
In 5 seasons with the Raptors, Nurse posted a 227-163 document and received 58.2% of his video games.
“This is a chance for us to refocus and reenergize our efforts as we proceed constructing towards our subsequent championship season,” stated Horst.
Different potential candidates to interchange Budenholzer embrace present Bucks assistant coach Charles Lee, Becky Hammon, Frank Vogel, Kenny Atkinson, Mike D’Antoni, and James Borrego. Lee lately interviewed with the Detroit Pistons for his or her head teaching emptiness.
Better of luck discovering a extra modern and profitable coach than Bud. All this speak about him failing to make changes within the playoffs overlooks the truth that he is pioneered so many various strategic changes to the sport that each profitable crew has copied.
— Haralabos Voulgaris (@haralabob) May 4, 2023
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