Even when the Hawks players walk away, coaching never stops for Mike Budenholzer. With only 8.7 seconds left in the contest, and Atlanta leading the Miami Heat 96-92, and even though Bud's still barking, the players dispersed.
Budenholzer just kept going, undeterred and unaware. That's the reaction of the reigning Coach of the Year.
The News Journal Search reported that when the Atlanta Hawks were playing against the Miami Heat on Tuesday night, a cameraman got a solid shot of Budenholzer during a timeout while drawing up a play as the break drew to a close. When the Atlanta players felt it, they began to scatter out of the huddle and began heading back onto the court.
But Bud was not done with the coaching yet and adamant to press every second out of this timeout, with or without anyone listening to him.
The 2014-2015 season of NBA was good for Mike Budenholzer as he was awarded NBA's Coach of the Year. During his second season with the Hawks, the team won a franchise record of 60 games that brought them to the Eastern Conference Finals, as reported by Hoop Trends.
With injuries and a few rest days, Budenholzer's starting five was pretty much set - Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, DeMarre Carroll, Paul Millsap and Al Horford. He didn't have to tinker much with his bench because his five starters played so well together and no one off the bench can give better.
As anyone can see, Budenholzer has now the flexibility and the size that he can fall back and try new lineups throughout the season. He said that if ever there was a year for experimentation, it's this year. Budenholzer has his work cut out for him this season, but the reigning coach of the year has earned the right to, and probably needs to, take some risks if he wants to, as well as to finish at the top of the conference again this season.
