The Milwaukee Bucks have struggled to find consistency in the second half of the 2023-24 NBA regular season under their new head coach, Doc Rivers. Things are only going to get tougher as Milwaukee suffered a catastrophic loss earlier this week.
In their game against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, their star player, Giannis Antetokounmpo crumbled to the floor in the third quarter after inbounding the ball. People feared the worst, as it was a non-contact injury and he was clutching at his calf, which can sometimes indicate an Achilles injury.
However, the team and their fan base can breathe a collective sigh of relief as Antetokounmpo’s Achilles is fully intact. While that is as positive of news as could have been shared, the team is still going to be without him for a period of time.
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Giannis Antetokounmpo & Milwaukee Bucks Updates
Before their game on Wednesday against the Orlando Magic, the Bucks released a statement updating the status of their star player. The release said he will “receive daily treatment and evaluation” but didn’t make any predictions on his potential availability for the start of the playoffs, per ESPN.
At the very least, Antetokounmpo will miss the remainder of the regular season. He was sidelined for the team’s 117-99 victory over the Magic. Rivers also shared that it is unlikely the Greek Freak will be traveling with the team for their final road trip.
Milwaukee heads on the road to face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday before taking on the Magic again in the regular season finale. While Antetokounmpo will not be participating, Rivers is hopeful that he has his best player back in the fold for the NBA postseason.
“Yeah, I’m hoping,” Rivers said during his pregame media availability Wednesday. “I don’t know. I’m just hoping.”
Without Antetokounmpo in the lineup, the Bucks can probably kiss their chances of being contenders goodbye. To vie for the NBA Title, they need him on the court as they are only 4-3 without him this season.
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Giannis Antetokounmpo & Milwaukee Bucks Updates
“You still got to play basketball,” Rivers said. “Guys have to play and you just hope that they can stay healthy. We haven’t had great luck in that regard; we know that. There are things that we have to be smart about as well.”
The Bucks, who are in second place in the Eastern Conference, are ahead of the third-place New York Knicks by only one game. Depending on how their final two games shake out, Milwaukee can land anywhere from the No. 2 seed down to the No. 4 seed.
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