Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer returned to Atlanta Friday morning due to a family emergency and will be unavailable to coach the team in tonight’s game against the Celtics.
Assistant coach Kenny Atkinson will serve as head coach for the game.
The Hawks gave no timetable for how long Budenholzer would be away from the team. In a statement, the team asked that Budenholzer and his family be respected during his absence due to the private nature of the situation.
“My first thought is hoping everything is OK,” Al Horford said. “I know he wouldn’t leave us unless something was wrong. We hope he’s OK and we are feeling for coach but we understand. … If it was one of the players who was going through something, he would understand too. It shows that in life there is more than basketball.”
The Hawks coaching staff was made aware of the situation Thursday evening. The players were informed Friday morning before holding a workout at TD Garden. Atkinson said getting the team back into a routine as quickly as possible would help any anxiety.
“My thoughts are with Bud and his family,” Atkinson said. “That is first and foremost. The second thing is my mentality is to stay in our routine. I’ve been with Bud for three years now. I now the players. We have an established system. I’ll stick to the script. It helps to have a staff that knows Bud and the players and the players have been together for a long time.”
Atkinson has been a Hawks assistant since 2012 after four season as an assistant with the Knicks. He was recently named coach of the Dominican Republic national team and guided them in the FIBA Americas tournament this summer. He also coached the Hawks Las Vegas Summer League entry this year.
Atkinson had one occasion to coach the Hawks. Budenholzer was ejected in the third quarter of a home loss to the Spurs on March 22. Budenholzer received two technical fouls, his third and fourth of the season, in a span of 1:09.
Atkinson said he would lean on the players and fellow assistant coaches.
“It’s always about us and how we approach the game,” Atkinson said. “We have a system in place. It would be a little more difficult if we had a lot of new players and they weren’t used to playing a certain way. Quite honestly, the players will help me tonight more than I will help them.”
The Hawks next game is Sunday at home against the Jazz.
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