Mike Budenholzer lost his job as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks after the team lost in the first round of the playoffs despite having a player as talented as Giannis Antetokounmpo, an NBA insider said. The “Greek Freak” hasn’t let that stop him from paying homage to the sacked coach, either.
“Coach, thank you for five wonderful years. We achieved an incredible feat for which I will always be thankful, Giannis posted on social media.
Expectations were high for the Bucks since they had Giannis, according to Fox Sports anchor Colin Cowherd. When Milwaukee didn’t even get past the first round of the playoffs, Budenholzer was fired.
According to Cowherd, “that’s why a lot of people in the business say that being an NBA head coach is the worst great job in America. You get paid a fortune, and the better the stars, the higher the expectations.”
Cowherd said it was just inexcusable to lose in the first round even with two-time MVP Antetokounmpo.
Giannis is the reason Budenholzer was dismissed, according to Cowherd, because he prevents favorites from being rolled and out-coached in a series.
According to Cowherd, Budenholzer “made some real coaching gaffs” during their Heat playoff series, which ultimately resulted in his dismissal. A coaching error during the playoffs cannot be excused, according to Cowherd.
“Everyone watches the playoffs, you’re the favorite, you get rolled, you get fired,” he remarked.
Among the alleged coaching errors Budenholzer made in the series were failing to call timeouts in crucial Game 5 situations and failing to devise a stronger defensive strategy to halt Miami’s Jimmy Butler’s offensive assault.
Even Giannis acknowledged that the Bucks should have done a better job of stopping Butler.
According to Antetokounmpo, he offered to guard Butler but the coaches declined his offer.
“In the end, I wish I had had more time to watch over [Butler].” Maybe try double-teaming him more and forcing him to pass the ball. Give Jrue a break and perhaps switch the matchup for a short while. After Butler scored a career-high 56 points in Game 4, Giannis stated, “I don’t think as a team we made the right adjustment, or we didn’t make as many adjustments as we could have against him.”
According to Cowherd, Budenholzer’s situation might have been different had Milwaukee not acquired a player of the caliber of Antetokounmpo.
“Maybe he keeps his job if you don’t have Giannis and your best players weren’t Brook Lopez, Jrue Holiday, and Khris Middleton. The drawback of having a superstar player that transcends generations is that. Games cannot be given away, Cowherd remarked.
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