Giannis Antetokounmpo Injury Another Blow To Bucks’ Season

Giannis Antetokounmpo left the Bucks’ Tuesday night victory over the Boston Celtics in the third quarter with an apparent left calf injury. He was later ruled out for the remainder of the game with a left soleus strain, and Milwaukee head coach Doc Rivers said that Antetokounmpo would undergo an MRI on his calf and Achilles tendon.

“High, I would say that,” Rivers said when asked about his concern for the superstar’s injury. “He’s Giannis. I think everyone probably feels the same way as I do right now. We’re just going to hope for the best.”

Antetokounmpo was questionable with a left hamstring injury coming into the Tuesday night game. He had missed multiple games in March due to the injury but decided to play regardless. He has only missed six games throughout the season, but the most recent injury could sideline him for at least the team’s last three games of the regular season. This year, Antetokounmpo is averaging the second-most points per game in the NBA with 30.3 on 61.1% shooting, 11.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game.

“We’re going to need him,” Khris Middleton said about his teammate. “So if he’s got to get rest, if he’s got to sit out these [next] couple of games to be ready for the playoffs, we need him to be as close to 100% as he can be.”

Milwaukee traded for Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard before the start of the season to make another championship run. With matching Lillard alongside Antetokounmpo and Middleton, many around the league thought of the Bucks as a top title contender, but that hasn’t been the case recently. In the team’s past 30 games, the trio has only played in five of those together and most likely won’t play any more together this regular season.

Lillard is averaging 24.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game on a nearly career-low 42.5% shooting in 71 games. Middleton is averaging a six-year low of 15 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game in only 51 games played this year. Middleton has also been struggling with injuries throughout the year and is officially listed as out for the team’s next game against the Magic.

The injury to their superstar is another blow for a Bucks team that has struggled in the past few weeks, including losses to the Wizards, Grizzlies and Raptors. Milwaukee fired head coach Adrian Griffin earlier in the season with a 30-13 record, but since then, they have gone 18-18 with Rivers leading the team. The Bucks are still second in the Eastern Conference standings but have only a few-game lead over the 3-8 seeds.

Before Tuesday night’s win against the top-seeded Celtics, the Bucks had lost four games in a row for the first time since December 2022. They’ve gone 4-6 in their past ten games, and with the loss of Antetokounmpo, the team can only hope they can get their superstar back for a long playoff run.

Article by Eli Gregorski