Budenholzer on the hot Seat as Bucks Season Continues

The Bucks are weeks removed from a five-game skid and their season seems to be back on track, yet head coach Mike Budenholzer’s job security is still up in the air.

In his first season with the Bucks, Mike Budenholzer won AP Coach of the Year and seemed like the next coach for the Bucks. Now with how the team performs late in the season that may not be the case.

Over the past two seasons, Budenholzer has led one of the best teams in the NBA finishing with the best record for two years in a row. This season, however, the Bucks hold the sixth best record in the NBA and fans are displeased with the coaching.

“Budenholzer has to go, crappy offensive sets (if he has any), terrible defensive rotations and it looks like he instructs the players to give wide open shots.” Bucks fan Logan Barton commented on Instagram. “This is in a league where jump shots are becoming more dominant and consistent.” He continued.

Comments asking to fire Budenholzer are all over every social media platform, the fans want success and believe that the Bucks need to get rid of Budenholzer to achieve success.

Another comment from Instagram simply reads, “Fire bud.” From Bucks fan Josh Rudinas.

Budenholzer did a great job, by league standards, with the Bucks in the regular season. Currently the team is third in the Eastern Conference, and the team has had the most wins in the NBA two years in a row.

The problem is the team’s performance late in games and in the post season. After two years of holding the best record in the NBA, the Bucks were the best team heading into the playoffs with the number one seed. The Bucks would get to the second round easily, but they have problems in the second round.

In the 2018 playoffs, the Bucks made it to the third round and lost in six games to the Toronto Raptors. And last year the Bucks lost in five games to the Miami Heat, fans did not take these losses lightly and are calling for players and Budenholzer to be fired. This poor showing in the playoffs did not come as a surprise to some as Budenholzer has always struggled in the playoffs.

Before he was head coach of the Bucks, Budenholzer was the head coach for the Atlanta Hawks. Budenholzer’s performance with the Hawks looks about the same as with the Bucks, he normally had a good regular season followed by an early playoff exit. Budenholzer has never made a trip to the NBA finals, and for a small-market team with a win now attitude that does not sit well with the fans.

Budenholzer’s job is in jeopardy. The Bucks seem to listen to the fans if it is within team interest. The fans wanted Eric Bledsoe gone and roster changes after last year. In the offseason the Bucks traded Bledsoe and others and signed many new free agents. If the fans are pushing this hard, there is a good chance Budenholzer could be done in Milwaukee after this year.

Budenholzer is currently under contract through next season, and it is strange to say that the Coach of the Year from two years ago is on the hot seat but that is a reality. Another brief losing streak or early playoff exit could see Budenholzer’s time in Milwaukee end prematurely.