APRIL 10, 4:50pm: According to the Bucks (Twitter link), an MRI confirmed that Antetkounmpo sustained a left soleus strain on Tuesday. He will miss the final three games of the regular season and will receive “daily treatment and evaluation,” per the team, with no return timeline provided.
APRIL 10, 6:42am: Antetokounmpo hasn’t sustained any damage to his left Achilles tendon, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
While that’s good news for the Bucks and their star forward, Charania notes (via Twitter) that calf strains typically necessitate a recovery timeline of at least a week or two. Antetokounmpo’s return to play will be based on how his calf responds to treatment and rehab, Charania adds.
APRIL 9: Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo will undergo an MRI on his strained left calf, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
Antetokounmpo injured himself merely jogging up the court during the third quarter against the Celtics on Tuesday. He crumbled to the ground in the backcourt and grabbed his left leg. He was carried back to the locker room by teammates, ESPN’s Jamal Collier writes.
The injury has been described as a left soleus strain. The soleus is a muscle in the back part of the calf.
Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers said after the game that his franchise player would also have his Achilles tendon evaluated, Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. “So, we’re just gonna hope for the best,” Rivers said.
It’s an ominous development with the postseason fast approaching. Antetokounmpo missed two games during the first round of the playoffs last season due to a back injury. Miami upset top-seeded Milwaukee, 4-1.
Antetokounmpo was listed on the injury report prior to Tuesday’s game with left hamstring tendinopathy before being upgraded to probable. Milwaukee defeated Boston to strengthen its hold on the second seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks had lost their previous four games.
Not a good sign when it’s a non-contact injury. I suspect we won’t see him in the playoffs.
Welp …..
Didn’t think the Bucks had much of a chance before this injury, but if Giannis is gone for the playoffs, Bucks won’t even make it through the first round.
I only really care about the Western Conference, but if you are dismissing a team that has Damian Lillard on it as being non-competitive you are not a smart person.
Dame is passing his prime now. Brunson is arguably the best PG in the East. Not sure if Dame is even a top 10 player in the league now (top 10 imo – Jokic, Giannis, Embiid, Shai, Curry, Luka, Brunson, Antman, AD, Tatum).
Pretty good list you came up with, SenseMan.
If you think Milwaukee without Giannis will beat Philly or Miami in a 7 game series you have no business judging others intelligence
Uh, how competitive were the last couple of Blazers teams that Lillard played on?
Also, what’s his career record in the playoffs? For quick reference, his teams are 4-8, and only 1-3 in the 2nd round/conference Finals.
And before you argue that he didn’t have a good enough supporting cast in Portland, if Giannis is out for the year, the Bucks second best player may be Bobby Portis right now. Pretty sure a younger and better Dame had better supporting casts than that is Portland while he was going 3-5 in first round series.
Damian Lillard plays literally zero defense and doesn’t know how to play offense in a system. He is hero ball 24/7. He’s super talented enough to get his points but Bucks are done in the first round if Giannis doesn’t play.
It doesn’t matter if he is gonna be out for two weeks with a strain, or done for the year with an Achilles ….. The Milwaukee Bucks championship window is now closed! The Bucks are gonna look to get out from under the Damian Lillard. Not sure if Lillard has a much of a market at the SuperMax rate.
Of course a team will gladly employ Lillard. The NBA, like all sports, is about selling viewership to accumulate wealth. Lillard will help/allow lower tier, smaller market teams to charge more for viewership. These guys aren’t paid based on how well they play, they are paid based on marketability, and profitability.
Selling viewership??? In a small market???? There ain’t enough viewers to sell!!! That’s the problem!!
ANY team trading for Damian Lillard has to send back $60 million in salary to match. What is left of your team???
Lillard had a limited market before Milwaukee, and has one now. Title window is closed without peak Giannis. They needed to get it done this year. Middleton is breaking down. Lopez is old. Jrue Holiday was traded. If the window is closed …. You must move Lillard ASAP. His value does not improve.
Milwaukee should see if Brooklyn wants to do business before Cleveland is forced to give in on Donovan Mitchell.
Dude if its an achilles he misses most or all of next season too so they very much do care lols…
Damn!!!
BUCKS, SIXERS, KNICKS, HEAT are the closest to give the CELTS a scare, then we lose Giannis …… bummer.
The Cavs are better than the 76ers, Knicks or Heat and Bucks if Giannis is out.
Cavs are not better than the Knicks. Not even sure they are better than any of the teams you named
Agreed, Chucktoad must be a Cavs fan. the Knicks destroyed them last playoff and the Cavs roster hasn’t significantly changed while the Knicks got better. The Knicks also won the regular season series with the Cavs (2-1).
In an article about a player’s possible long term injury Knicks fans actually forgot that the team’s 2nd best player is done for the year. I can’t see how the Knicks “got better” when Julius Randle won’t be available for the post season.
Hmm let’s see. NYK added DiVicenzo, OG and Achuiwa who are all big time contributors. McBride, Big Mitch and Hartenstein made huge improvements in their play this year. Yes, Randle is injured but he often plays poorly in the playoff so it actually might benefit the NYK; with Randle not playing, Brunson is playing at a MVP level caliber, scoring 40+ on almost a nightly basis recently. IDK.. what other reasons do you need?
The East really needs a shake up of it’s owners…
Far too many seasons with a runaway team like the Celtics… if we’re lucky 2 teams will be that good in the East… And western play in territory records for the other top teams…
No Giannis is a big problem for the Bucks… They need his defence out there with Dame…
He might need to sit out the playoffs. All of the leg tendons are connected, the calf problems usually leads to an Achilles problem. It maybe a time bomb.
And we all know the Bucks weren’t going anywhere anyway. With that said, I understand wanting to get back as a competitor. But it’s definitely risky.
As I recall, KD had a calf strain before his Achilles ruptured.
I sure hope that isn’t repeated!
Well I didn’t want it this way …..
But it looks like 2nd seed is attainable now. Freakin unbelievable.
Get well Giannis . Hope it’s not serious.
I can’t wait to see what kind of desperate moves the Bucks’ management makes in the off-season should be good times.
Ginooo
SOFT has he been drinking ADs water?