Mike Budenholzer fired odds: Bucks could move on from head coach after stunning first-round playoff loss to Heat

Mike Budenholzer is still trending on Twitter this morning -- and not in a good way -- after his Milwaukee Bucks, the team with the NBA's best record this season and the favorite to win championship, were shockingly knocked out in Round 1 of the Eastern Conference playoffs on their home floor Wednesday night in Game 5 by the eighth-seeded Miami, 128-126 in overtime, in one of the biggest playoff upsets in league history. SportsLine offers odds on whether Budenholzer will be back next season.

Milwaukee led by 16 points entering the fourth quarter but couldn't stop Jimmy Butler, who made an amazing play in the final seconds of regulation to tie it, and then Miami was clearly the better team in OT. For some reason, Budenholzer didn't have 7-footer and NBA Defensive Player of the Year runner-up Brook Lopez on the floor during the in-bounds play to Butler that tied the game with 0.5 seconds remaining.

Instead of putting Giannis Antetokounmpo, a four-time first-team All-Defensive player and former Defensive Player of the Year, on Butler, Giannis was covering the in-bounds passer. While it was a bit of a fluke that Butler made the shot while falling down, there were no rim protectors on the court.

Budenholzer failed to call a time out after Butler tied the game -- "Yeah, we needed to call a timeout there," Budenholzer would later admit -- or as the Bucks failed to get off a shot as the final buzzer sounded in overtime. Did Antetokounmpo take the shot as time was running out? No, it was Grayson Allen, and his hurried attempt never got close to the rim.

"Giannis attacked; Giannis got the ball to Khris [Middleton]; Khris attacked, that's how we always play," Budenholzer said. "It's been very good for us and we weren't able to convert it."

The 16-point comeback victory for Miami was the largest comeback entering a fourth quarter in a series-clinching win in NBA history. The Bucks became the sixth No. 1 seed in NBA history to be eliminated by No. 8. Someone will likely pay for that. There were rumors that Budenholzer might be fired before the Bucks won the title in 2021. They lost in the conference semifinals last year, and have now produced this disastrous result.

Is it Budenholzer's fault that Giannis missed two games of this series to due injury (one of which the Bucks won)? No. Is it his fault that Middleton missed last year's conference semifinals vs. Boston due to injury? No. But Wednesday's embarrassment is likely to spur change under new co-owner Jimmy Haslam, also owner of the Cleveland Browns. Also note the Bucks blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead to losing Game 4, and TNT's Charles Barkley ripped Budenholzer there as well.

"I have a problem with Milwaukee," Barkley said. "They never called a timeout. You can't let a team score 13 straight points and don't use a timeout. I didn't understand that at all."

Should Milwaukee move on from Budenholzer, the job would be highly coveted due to the presence of Antetokounmpo. It's a very important offseason overall for the Bucks as Lopez will be a free agent, Middleton has a $40.4 million player option and Antetokounmpo will become eligible for an extension in September.

Via SportsLine oddsmakers: Will Mike Budenholzer be the Bucks' coach to open the 2023-24 season?

• No -180
• Yes +140

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