Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer took a lot of heat for the team's playoff flameout in the bubble last year. After dominating in the regular season, the Bucks had no answers for the upstart Miami Heat, who beat them in five games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. If Milwaukee fails again in this year's playoffs, Budenholzer will be looking for a new job, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania and Sam Amick.

Budenholzer was questioned for his rotations, inability to adjust and for his reluctance to push his stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo to play more minutes in the playoffs. This was all considered when the Bucks were working to sign The Greek Freak to an extension, and while that was successful, the questions about Bud remain.

With the playoffs approaching, the Bucks head coach is under a lot of pressure to succeed. Budenholzer has experimented more this season and made some notable changes that could help in the playoffs. The regular-season record isn't quite as dominant, but if these tweaks work in the postseason, nobody will care about that.

But just how deep does Milwaukee have to go to save Bud's job?

That's unclear. A first-round exit would obviously result in a firing. A second-round exit would likely mean his exit as well, which is tough given the Bucks are currently slated to face the Brooklyn Nets in the second round. Past that, there would be a variety of factors in play when Milwaukee decides what to do with the coach.

The Bucks are currently 41-24 on the season and sitting in third place in the Eastern Conference. Milwaukee did just beat Brooklyn two times in a row, albeit with James Harden sidelined. This postseason will be fascinating for the Bucks with Jrue Holiday now on board and the cloud of Mike Budenholzer's future hanging over it all.