In a few short hours, the Milwaukee Bucks will be playing Game 7 of their heated and exhausting Conference Semifinals series with the Brooklyn Nets.
While the Bucks’ history of Game 7s is far from robust, Milwaukee has a chance to veer away from history and reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time in three seasons. And at this point, it isn’t just win or go home for some key Bucks faces.
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As the Bucks have battled back and rode the highs and lows from their series with the Nets, whispers continue to surround the future of the Bucks’ coaching staff and head coach Mike Budenholzer.
The growing coaching carousel continues to sweep the Bucks, Budenholzer and multiple assistant coaches as vacancies continue to open around the league, especially after this wild week of news.
After having been linked to the Boston Celtics and New Orleans Pelicans coaching jobs, a recent report from The Athletic’s Josh Robbins indicates Bucks assistant coach Charles Lee stands among the growing candidates that the Orlando Magic are seeking permission to interview for their head coach position (subscription required).
Additionally, not only has lead assistant Darvin Ham’s name been linked to the Bucks if they do end up making a change, but ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Friday that the Celtics are seeking to interview Ham for a second time.
Speculation surrounds Mike Budenholzer and his future with the Milwaukee Bucks
Of course, the biggest chunk of intrigue and speculation surrounds Budenholzer. There have been varying mandates that the Bucks simply can’t fall on their faces again under Bud’s watch during the postseason to nothing short of a trip to the NBA Finals will ensure he doesn’t see out the final year of his deal next season in Milwaukee.
While that has increasingly come to that surface, so too has speculation surrounding the Bucks and head coach Rick Carlisle, who abruptly resigned from the Dallas Mavericks earlier this week after a 13-year reign.
As messy as this all is from an optics perspective, it reinforces the stakes of what could be in store for the Bucks. This very well could be the last time we saw the likes of Budenholzer, Ham, Lee and the team’s entire coaching staff at the head of the Bucks’ bench if they fall short against the Nets Saturday night at the Barclays Center.
Milwaukee has spent considerable resources constructing their roster and their core to put them in a position to compete for an NBA title this season. Yes, injuries have hit them as in the case of Donte DiVincenzo, but by and large, the Bucks have been able to weather the injury bug, especially in comparison to the Nets this series.
In the process, we’ve learned more about what will propel the Bucks to championship success and the best uses of their stars such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday and so on. But as the question has been all season long, whether all of the things and changes the Bucks have put into practice this season will heavily determine whether they live to see another day.
In many ways, tonight will answer whether the Bucks have all of the elements needed to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in 47 years, much less win a championship. It’s time to put up or shut up and nothing promises to be the same based on how tonight goes down in Brooklyn.