Injury Notes: Wembanyama, Cunningham, Curry, Tatum
Victor Wembanyama‘s status for the Spurs‘ penultimate game of the season remains up in the air as he works his way back from a rib injury, Tom Orsborn writes for the San Antonio-Express News.
The MVP candidate was ruled out for Wednesday’s game against the Blazers, but the team is confident that Wembanyama will play at least 20 minutes in one of their two remaining games so that he will be eligible for end-of-season awards. He is considered the strong favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year.
“He’s improved quite a bit, so I don’t think it’s a long-term concern, but we’ll obviously be very cautious in the situation and circumstances we’re under,” coach Mitch Johnson said.
With the star big man’s health the priority heading into the playoffs, it’s unclear if Johnson would simply play him the minimum required minutes to hit his eligibility or if he would receive a normal workload.
We have more injury notes from around the league:
- Cade Cunningham returned from the collapsed lung that kept him out for 11 games on Wednesday, contributing 13 points and 10 assists in nearly 26 minutes as the Pistons beat the Bucks. After the game, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said that Cunningham’s playing time for the rest of the season will depend on how he feels, according to The Athletic’s Hunter Patterson (via Twitter). It’s unclear whether he will suit up for their game against the Hornets on Thursday. For his part, Cunningham said that this was a new experience for him that he’s still figuring out how to deal with, per Patterson (Twitter video link). “It was different than any injury I’ve ever had as far as how it progressed initially,” Cunningham said. “From whenever I got hit to how I felt immediately to how I started to feel as time went on. Thanks to all the staff and medical that was around and helped.”
- While Stephen Curry was supposed to be on a minutes restriction in his Monday night return from a prolonged absence due to a knee injury, he exceeded the expected playing time, scoring 29 points in 26 minutes. With the Warriors playing three times in the final four days of the regular season, Curry will likely sit out either Thursday or Friday, ESPN’s Anthony Slater reports (Twitter video link). Slater speculates that Curry will miss Friday’s matchup with the Kings as he looks to get back to as close to 100% as possible before the Warriors try to win two play-in games to advance to the playoffs.
- Jayson Tatum will return to Madison Square Garden for the first time since rupturing his Achilles there in last year’s playoffs, and once again it will be in a crucial game for the Knicks, Jared Schwartz writes for the New York Post. A Celtics win will seal their hold on the second seed, while the Knicks are fighting off the Cavaliers, who are looking to seize the third seed. Tatum admitted that the experience will likely bring up some complicated feelings. “I’m not, like, thrilled to go back and play there,” he said. “Last time I played there, obviously, it was a traumatic experience for me. Obviously, I knew at some point I would have to get over that hurdle and play there again. So, it’s going to have to be this Thursday. But it’s not like I’m thrilled about it. But it’s part of it.”
Central Notes: Haliburton, Cunningham, Stewart, Harden
Tyrese Haliburton played five-on-five basketball on Wednesday for the first time since tearing his Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals series, the Pacers guard tweeted today. Haliburton recently spoke about his recovery and his choice not to set concrete goals for next season outside of playing as the best version of himself.
As Scott Agness of the Fieldhouse Files notes (via Twitter), this is week 41 of Haliburton’s recovery. For reference, Jayson Tatum returned to play for the Celtics roughly 43 weeks after his own surgery from an Achilles rupture.
Haliburton also recently opened up about dealing with a bout of shingles while continuing his Achilles rehab.
We have more from around the Central Division:
- Cade Cunningham returned from injury today in the Pistons‘ matchup against the Bucks, as expected. Cunningham missed 11 games with a left lung pneumothorax, which is his longest absence since the 2022/23 season, Hunter Patterson writes for The Athletic. Patterson spoke with Dr. Daniel H. Sterman, the director of NYU Langone Medical Center’s pulmonary division, who speculated that there shouldn’t be major risk of Cunningham’s ailment reoccurring due to the fact that it was sustained as part of a collision, rather than spontaneously with no outside interference.
- Isaiah Stewart, who also returned for the Pistons on Wednesday, tried to play through his left calf strain for a time, but the pain made it ultimately impossible for him to do so, writes Coty M. Davis of The Detroit News. “That time (off) allowed me to settle down and allowed me to feel better and feel like myself,” Stewart said. “Obviously, it was tough. But at the end of the day, I want to be there for my teammates come the playoffs. I’ll be able to play and be available, which is the most important thing.” While Stewart came to terms with his absence, he is frustrated by one thing: his ineligibility for end-of-season awards. The big man likely received All-Defensive votes if he had qualified. However, Stewart prioritized being healthy for the playoffs, as he missed last year’s postseason run and was determined not to do so again this season.
- When James Harden came to the Cavaliers in the Darius Garland trade, he brought a pregame habit with him: going through walk-throughs in hotel ballrooms during road games without shootarounds. “It’s just preparation, detail, you get ready for the game,” Harden said, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “Physically you get out and move around, and mentally you have to be prepared. It’s just preparation man, especially going into this run that we are about to go into. I think the focus is making sure we know who we’re playing against and individual guys and what they like to do with their tendencies.” Head coach Kenny Atkinson was initially skeptical of the ask, but he has grown to appreciate it — as well as how quickly the star guard has acclimated to his new team. “He’s completely adapted to our style of play, which is pretty, I would assume, rare,” Atkinson said.
Cade Cunningham Expected To Return On Wednesday
Pistons guard Cade Cunningham is expected to return to action on Wednesday when the team hosts the Bucks in Detroit, reports Vincent Goodwill of ESPN (Twitter link).
Cunningham has missed the Pistons’ past 11 games, having exited a March 17 contest after playing just five minutes due to what was initially referred to as back spasms and was later said to be a back contusion. However, two days later, word broke that he had a collapsed lung, with reports at the time indicating that he was facing an extended absence.
Before being diagnosed with left lung pneumothroax, Cunningham looked like a strong candidate to show up on MVP ballots. Across 61 games for the East-leading Pistons, the fifth-year guard has averaged 24.5 points, 9.9 assists, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in 34.4 minutes per contest, with a .461/.346/.814 shooting line.
However, with only three games left in the regular season, Cunningham won’t be able to reach the 65-game minimum required for award consideration. That will make him ineligible for MVP votes and a spot on an All-NBA team unless the league grants him an “extraordinary circumstances” exception.
Still, Cunningham’s award eligibility is a secondary concern for the 57-22 Pistons, who will enter the playoffs as the Eastern Conference’s top seed. Detroit has played well without its leading scorer in recent weeks, winning eight of 11 games with a pair of overtime losses during that stretch, but they’ll need a healthy Cunningham in order to have a realistic shot at making a deep playoff run.
Cunningham, who is still formally listed as questionable on the Pistons’ latest injury report, figures to be on a minutes restriction on Wednesday if he’s cleared to return.
Cade Cunningham Ruled Out For Monday’s Game
4:45 pm: Cunningham and Stewart have been downgraded to out, tweets Patterson, but head coach J.B. Bickerstaff is hopeful both players will return before the regular season ends (Twitter link via Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press).
“There’s no way to replicate what a game is other than playing the game … specially ramping up to the intensity of playoff basketball it would be beneficial for the guys, and the group,” Bickerstaff said.
12:46 pm: The latest Pistons injury report suggests that franchise player Cade Cunningham will return before the end of the regular season.
Cunningham has been upgraded to doubtful for tonight’s game at Orlando, according to The Athletic’s Hunter Patterson (Twitter link). The team had issued an update on Thursday stating that Cunningham would be reevaluated in one week but it appears that timeline has accelerated.
Cunningham has been sidelined since March 17, when he suffered a collapsed lung while diving for the ball against Washington. Officially diagnosed as a left lung pneumothorax, the injury prevented Cunningham from receiving consideration for postseason awards. He has appeared in 61 games but only played five minutes against the Wizards. He would need to play in five more games for eligibility and the Pistons, who have already sewn up the top seed in the East, only have four games left.
However, getting Cunningham some playing time before the regular season ends should prove beneficial when the Pistons begin their postseason run. While it’s unlikely he’ll play today, it appears that he should be back in action by Detroit’s final regular season game on Sunday.
Cunningham is averaging 24.5 points, 9.9 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game this season. Detroit has shown its depth and resilience with its star point guard on the mend — the team won that March 17 contest and has gone 8-2 in his absence.
In another Pistons development, key frontcourt reserve Isaiah Stewart has also been upgraded to doubtful. Stewart has been sidelined since March 13 due to a left calf strain.
Pistons Clinch Top Seed In Eastern Conference
The Pistons clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 2006/07 following Saturday’s lopsided victory in Philadelphia, the NBA announced (via Twitter).
Detroit is currently 57-21 with four games left in the regular season. The team now has home-court advantage throughout the East playoffs.
Veteran forward Tobias Harris was among seven Pistons who scored in double figures on Saturday, finishing with a team-high 19 points, four rebounds, four steals and two assists in 27 minutes. The 33-year-old, who spent five-plus years with the Sixers, was booed throughout the game, per ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill, and viewed it as test against a team trying to secure a playoff berth.
“It’s a good opportunity to go out there and play and figure it out,” Harris said. “It gets you ready for the playoffs, high intensity basketball. In any other arena, they boo the other team, not specifically you. For me I look at it as a challenge. Use it as a training, really.”
The Pistons have gone 8-2 since Cade Cunningham suffered a collapsed lung on March 17, with Jalen Duren and Daniss Jenkins continuing their strong play in the All-NBA guard’s absence. Detroit’s only two losses over that 10-game span were in overtime (vs. Atlanta and at Oklahoma City).
Fourth-year center Duren has averaged 22.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists while shooting 66.0% from the field and 83.8% from the foul line in nine games over that stretch (he was out for the loss to the Thunder), while second-year guard Jenkins has put up 19.0 PPG, 7.7 APG and 4.4 RPG on .448/.438/.911 shooting in 10 contests.
“With Cade here we were more relaxed, we knew we had more of a superstar to get us to wins,” Pistons swingman Ausar Thompson told ESPN. “But since he’s been gone we all gathered around and knew we had to be more gritty, missing such a big piece. We had to make up for less offense on the defensive side.”
The last formal update on Cunningham came a few days ago, when the Pistons announced that he “continues to make progress in his return to play process” and would be reevaluated in a week. According to Goodwill, all signs continue to point to Cunningham being ready to return for Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs.
Pistons To Reevaluate Cade Cunningham In One Week
The Pistons provided a brief update on Cade Cunningham‘s recovery from a collapsed lung today, announcing (via Twitter) that the star guard “continues to progress in his return to play process” under the supervision of medical experts, including those on the team’s staff. He’ll be reevaluated in one week, according to the club.
There are no real specifics within the Pistons’ announcement about where Cunningham is in his recovery, but they said when initially revealing his diagnosis that he’d be reevaluated in two weeks, so an update was due today.
For what it’s worth, ESPN’s Vince Goodwill previously reported that the Pistons were optimistic about Cunningham’s lung in about two weeks. The hope, Goodwill explained at the time, was that the 24-year-old would then be able to do non-contact work for a week, followed by a week (or more) of contact work ahead of the playoffs. It’s unclear based on today’s announcement if that timeline is still realistic — next week’s update could provide more clarity.
With Cunningham set to miss at least one more week, he’ll officially fall short of the 65-game threshold required to be considered for end-of-season awards. That means he won’t be eligible to be included on MVP ballots and won’t make an All-NBA team this season, despite an impressive 61-game showing that saw him lead the Pistons to the No. 1 seed in the East by averaging 24.5 points, 9.9 assists, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in 34.4 minutes per game.
While the Pistons will need a healthy Cunningham to make a deep postseason run, they’ve more than held their own during his absence, going 6-2 over the past two weeks. Their only two losses during that stretch came in overtime to the Hawks and Thunder, two of the NBA’s hottest teams.
Injury Notes: Giannis, Cade, Edwards, Kings, K. George, Wade
The National Basketball Players Association seemed to imply in a statement earlier this week that Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is healthy enough to play, but that’s not the case, according to head coach Doc Rivers. As Eric Nehm of The Athletic relays, Rivers told reporters on Wednesday that Antetokounmpo continues to recover from the left knee hyperextension and bone bruise that have sidelined him since March 15.
“He’s not (healthy),” Rivers said. “He’s progressing. He’s just not healthy. Our focus right now is just getting him healthy. We’re just trying to get Giannis cleared and healthy; that’s our only focus. All the other stuff, we stay above.”
Reporting last week suggested that Antetokounmpo and the Bucks were at odds over whether he should be shut down for the rest of the season, with Milwaukee preferring to take a conservative approach and the two-time MVP pushing to return. The NBPA’s statement suggested that the Bucks are motivated to hold Giannis out of action to potentially improve their draft position, an idea Rivers downplayed.
“We didn’t have a meeting about this (statement from the NBPA),” Rivers said. “We didn’t have one discussion. (General manager) Jon Horst didn’t call me to talk about this, just to show you the concern we have.”
Here are several more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Appearing on NBA Countdown on Wednesday (Twitter video link), ESPN’s Shams Charania provided health updates on Cade Cunningham (collapsed lung) and Anthony Edwards (knee inflammation). According to Charania, the Pistons are optimistic that Cunningham will be able to return in time for the start of the playoffs, while the Timberwolves consider Edwards day-to-day at this point, and he could return as Saturday vs. Detroit or Monday at Dallas.
- Kings forward Keegan Murray, out since February 25 due to a left ankle sprain, is making “good progress” in his return-to-play process and is resuming contact work, the team announced on Wednesday (Twitter link via James Ham of ESPN 1320). The update suggests Sacramento plans on having Murray back before the end of the season. Veteran guard Russell Westbrook, meanwhile, underwent an MRI on his sore right foot and has been diagnosed with joint irritation of the first toe. He’ll remain out, with further updates provided as appropriate, per the Kings.
- The Wizards, who announced on March 4 that forward Kyshawn George had sustained a partial UCL tear in his left elbow and would be reevaluated in three weeks, provided an update right on schedule on Wednesday. According to the team (Twitter link), elbow specialist Dr. Keith Meister confirmed this week that George has a Grade 2 distal UCL tear. The plan is to continue to treat the injury “conservatively” and evaluate the 22-year-old again next Wednesday.
- Cavaliers forward Dean Wade appeared to suffer an ankle injury during warm-ups prior to Wednesday’s contest vs. Miami, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter links). While Wade was held out of the game, Fedor refers to it as a “precaution,” which suggests the injury probably isn’t serious.
Adam Silver Discusses Expansion, NBA Europe, Tanking, More
Adam Silver‘s press conference at the conclusion of the league’s latest Board of Governors meetings on Wednesday was an eventful one, as the NBA commissioner discussed next steps for potential expansion, the latest developments related to NBA Europe, the league’s anti-tanking efforts, and more.
Here are some of the highlights from Silver’s presser, sorted by subject:
On exploring expansion to Vegas and Seattle:
- Silver hopes to have a formal decision by the end of this year on the possibility of expanding to Las Vegas and/or Seattle, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. “Our goal was in 2026 to resolve this issue one way or the other,” Silver said. “So, my timeline — we weren’t so specific with the board — is that we need to know by the end of this calendar year what it is we’re doing. It may not be that every ‘I’ is dotted, but that would be our goal, this year.”
- The NBA has yet to reach any deals with potential ownership groups, Silver said, adding that the bidding process is wide open. “If you are interested, and I’ll say that now to people who may be listening or watching this, if you’re interested, call the league office, call PJT Partners directly in New York,” Silver said, referring to the investment bank the league hired as a strategic adviser. “I just want to make sure everybody understands there’s been no handshakes on the side. There’s been no commitments. There’s no promises to anyone. This is a completely transparent process.”
- Expanding to 32 teams isn’t a given, Silver said today (Twitter link via Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints): “There is absolutely a chance expansion may not happen. It’s also possible we could expand to one market, maybe two, or no markets.” Silver did add that there’s reason to believe there will be “enormous” interest in the Vegas and Seattle markets.
- Silver acknowledged that some team owners don’t see the need to expand beyond 30 teams, citing concerns about possible dilution of talent and further divvying up NBA revenue shares, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com. However, the substantial potential of the Vegas and Seattle markets factored into the decision to move forward with exploring expansion. That vote was unanimous, ESPN’s Shams Charania said during an NBA Today appearance (Twitter video link).
On NBA Europe:
- Mark Tatum, the NBA’s deputy commissioner, provided team owners with an update on plans for NBA Europe at the Board of Governors meetings, but no vote was conducted on the potential European league, tweets Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
- Although Silver said there has been a ton of enthusiasm about NBA Europe, he acknowledged that the “best outcome” would be if the NBA could join forces with the EuroLeague on the venture rather than the two leagues competing against one another (Twitter link via Marc Stein).
On tanking:
- The NBA will hold a special Board of Governors meeting in May to make a decision on what new rules will be implemented to deter tanking, Silver told reporters (Twitter link via Reynolds).
- “We are going to fix it … full stop,” Silver said in reference to the NBA’s tanking issue (Twitter link via Stein).
- The commissioner added that the league needs to do something more “extreme” than it has in the past, per Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic (Twitter link). “Going into next season, the incentives will be completely different than we are right now,” Silver said.
On the 65-game rule:
- Despite backlash from media members, the National Basketball Players Association, and agents, it doesn’t sound like Silver is eager to abolish – or even make changes to – the 65-game rule for end-of-season award eligibility, tweets Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
- Calls to modify the rule have increased with Pistons star Cade Cunningham looking likely to fall a few games short of the minimum. While Silver is sympathetic to Cunningham’s situation and says he’s always open to talking to the NBPA, he’s less convinced it’s a major problem. “I’m not ready to say it’s not working,” Silver said of the rule (Twitter link via Siegel). “It is working… I’m not ready to say because there is a sense of unfairness for one player, that the rule doesn’t work.”
[UPDATE: NBPA To Seek Change To 65-Game Rule]
On the Trail Blazers’ sale to incoming owner Tom Dundon and their future in Portland:
- Reporting last summer suggested that March 31 was the target date for Tom Dundon to close his purchase of majority control of the Trail Blazers. Silver suggested on Wednesday that timeline hasn’t changed. “We expect that there’ll be a vote shortly from our board,” he said, per Joe Freeman of The Oregonian (subscription required). “Tom and his group were just interviewed yesterday, so that’s now the additional process. But that should happen in short order. I think Tom is anxious and ready to go and wants to build a championship franchise there.”
- As the Blazers look to secure a long-term future in Portland, they’ve focused on making renovations to the Moda Center rather than building a new arena, writes Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (subscription required). Asked if the NBA views those renovations as sufficient to keep the team in Portland and incentivize Dundon to agree to the 20-year lease terms being discussed, Silver replied, “I believe so. The plan is to have long-term stability for the franchise. I’ve talked directly to the governor, the mayor, the city council. We wouldn’t be going through this process if the plan wasn’t to have a long-term lease in Portland. I don’t want to speak for Tom Dundon, but I know he sees the opportunity to be very successful in Portland. It’s an important market for the NBA. Tom understands that, and I admire the way the community has come together.”
Central Notes: Nance, Cunningham, Cavs, McClung
When the Bucks promoted forward Pete Nance to their 15-man roster, they dipped into their room exception to sign him to a new three-year, $5.81MM contract that exceeds a minimum deal in terms of both first-year salary and total years, Hoops Rumors has confirmed.
The Bucks used roughly $5.13MM of their room exception last summer to re-sign Kevin Porter Jr., and it has been prorating downward since January 10, but the team still had a portion of it left to put toward Nance’s contract.
Nance received a $600K salary for the rest of this season, well above his prorated minimum of $277,137. As a trade-off, the deal includes a non-guaranteed minimum salary ($2,497,812) for 2026/27, with a non-guaranteed minimum-salary team option ($2,707,612) for ’27/28.
Nance’s 2026/27 salary would become guaranteed if he remains under contract through July 4, 2026.
We have more from around the Central:
- In the wake of the NBPA issuing a statement criticizing the 65-game rule in support of Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, agent Jeff Schwartz added his voice to those arguing that his client doesn’t deserve to miss out on All-NBA recognition this season. “Cade has delivered a first-team All-NBA season,” Schwartz told ESPN’s Shams Charania. “If he falls just short of an arbitrary games-played threshold due to legitimate injury, it should not disqualify him from recognition he has clearly earned over the course of the season. The league should be rewarding excellence, not enforcing rigid cutoffs that ignore context. An exception needs to be made.” Cunningham, who was diagnosed last week with a collapsed lung, appears unlikely to make the five additional appearances necessary to meet the 65-game threshold.
- The Cavaliers beat Orlando on Tuesday for their fourth consecutive win, but head coach Kenny Atkinson expressed displeasure after the game with his defense, which surrendered 131 points in the victory, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “I just told the team in the locker room, if we’re going to play defense like this, we’re going to have a short playoff stint,” Atkinson said. “… We’re the number one offensive team over the last (several) games. But there’s two sides of the ball. We’re tilted one way right now. … You have to be good on both ends. You got to be top 10 (on) offense and defense; it gives you the best chance. We’re not.” Atkinson added that the “guys who defend” will be the ones who are part of his rotation in the playoffs.
- One of just two players in NBA history to win three dunk contests, Bulls two-way guard Mac McClung now holds another record. He’s the G League’s new all-time leading scorer across the regular season, Tip-Off Tournament, and postseason, having surpassed Renaldo Major‘s 5,299 total points, according to the league (Twitter link). Major still holds the NBAGL record for regular season points (5,058).
NBPA Calls For 65-Game Rule To Be Abolished Or Reformed
With several star players, including Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, at risk of falling short of the 65-game minimum required to qualify for end-of-season awards, the National Basketball Players Association issued a statement on Tuesday calling for the rule to be adjusted or eliminated altogether, as Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press relays (via Twitter).
“Cade Cunningham’s potential ineligibility for postseason awards after a career-defining season is a clear indictment of the 65-game rule and yet another example of why it must be abolished or reformed to create an exception for significant injuries,” an NBPA spokesperson said. “Since its implementation, far too many deserving players have been unfairly disqualified from end-of-season honors by this arbitrary and overly rigid quota.”
Cunningham appeared in 61 games before being diagnosed last week with a collapsed lung that may sideline him for the rest of the regular season. Prior to that diagnosis, he was a viable candidate for a spot on MVP ballots and the All-NBA first team. However, it appears increasingly unlikely that he’ll be able to play in the 65 games necessary to qualify for those awards.
The 65-game rule requires players to appear in at least 20 minutes for a game to count toward the minimum, with each player allowed to count up to two appearances in which he played between 15 and 20 minutes. Because Cunningham played just five minutes in his final game last Tuesday, it won’t count toward his total for the purposes of the rule, which means he’s still five games away from reaching the threshold.
The rule does include an exception for a player who suffers a season-ending injury, but only if he has already logged 20-plus minutes in at least 62 games (including 85% of his team’s games to that point). Cunningham didn’t quite get there.
The NBA’s decision to implement the 65-game rule was more about discouraging “load management” than it was about preserving the sanctity of its end-of-season awards, since most media voters already took total games played into account when weighing candidates’ cases. While it’s possible that instances of load management have been reduced as a result of the rule, it has had some troubling side effects, including players pushing to come back from injuries sooner than they otherwise might have in order to preserve their award eligibility.
A player who falls short of 65 games and misses out on All-NBA honors as a result could also face significant financial ramifications, since the criteria for “super-max” and “Rose Rule” contracts are based largely on All-NBA berths. Cunningham, for example, could have become eligible for an extension starting at up to 35% of the salary cap (instead of 30%) by making All-NBA teams in 2026 and 2027. If he misses out this season, he’ll need to make an All-NBA team in 2028 or 2029 to qualify for that super-max extension.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama are among the other MVP candidates who would be at risk of missing the 65-game cutoff if they suffer a minor injury in the season’s final weeks. Jokic must appear in nine of Denver’s remaining 10 games to qualify, while Wembanyama has to play in at least seven of San Antonio’s final 10 contests.
The NBPA also put out a statement today about the league’s player participation policy and the Bucks’ reported plan to shut down Giannis Antetokounmpo for the rest of the season.