The Milwaukee Bucks shook off a tough slate of injuries and absences early in the season to become one of the Eastern Conference's best teams. But they just got dealt another tough break as head coach Mike Budenholzer has entered the NBA's health and safety protocols, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
ESPN Sources: Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer has entered Covid protocols and will miss tonight's game vs. Toronto. Top assistant Darvin Ham will be the acting head coach. Ham is considered one of the league's next wave of head coaches.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 5, 2022
Wojnarowski added that Darvin Ham, the Bucks' top assistant coach and a former player for the team, will be the acting head coach. Per NBA reporter Marc Stein, Budenholzer will become the 12th coach to enter protocols, joining other coaches of title contenders. He will join Bucks guards Pat Connaughton and Grayson Allen, who recently entered protocols.
Milwaukee's Mike Budenholzer would be the 12th NBA coach to enter the league's health and safety protcols, joining Carlisle (IND), Gentry (SAC), Vogel (LAL), Williams (PHX), Rivers (PHI), Malone (DEN), Billups (POR), Daigenault (OKC), Donovan (CHI), Lue (LAC) and McMillan (ATL).
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 5, 2022
Giannis Antetokounmpo has led the Bucks to a 25-14 record so far, good for third in the conference. Despite absences from several key players and a back injury to starting center Brook Lopez that has caused him to miss all but one game this season, Milwaukee looks fit to defend its NBA title.
Budenholzer is in his ninth season as a head coach and his fourth with the Bucks. Ham was a candidate for past head coaching vacancies. He has been an assistant coach since 2012 and is in his fourth year on Milwaukee's sideline. In his eight-year career as a player, he spent three seasons with the Bucks and won a championship as a bench player with the Detroit Pistons.
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