The Milwaukee Bucks fell apart down the stretch of the 2023-24 NBA regular season, resulting in them losing out on the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference to the New York Knicks. A major reason for their collapse near the very end was the injury to star forward, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
During the team’s victory over the Boston Celtics on April 9th, Antetokounmpo went down in the third quarter after inbounding the ball, crumbling to the ground. Many people feared the worst, as it was a non-contact injury.
While his Achilles was deemed intact after some testing, Antetokounmpo was still going to miss some time. He didn’t play again for the Bucks in the regular season, as Milwaukee defeated the Orlando Magic in their next game before losing their final two games of the regular season.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Giannis Antetokounmpo, 2024 NBA Playoffs, Milwaukee Bucks Updates
That puts them in third place in the Easter Conference, with a first-round matchup against the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Playoffs. The main focus of that series will be the health of Antetokounmpo. Unfortunately, according to recent updates, things aren’t looking great.
During a segment on Run It Back on FanDuel TV, NBA insider Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium revealed an update on Antetokounmpo’s status. At this point, there is real concern about his availability for Game 1.
“I’m told there is real doubt about [Giannis Antetokounmpo’s] status going into this series, his status for game one is very much up in the air,” Charania said to Michelle Beadle and former NBA players Chandler Parsons and Lou Williams.
If Antetokounmpo cannot get on the court for Game 1 or early in the series against the Pacers, the Bucks are in major trouble. Indiana proved during the regular season, even when the Greek Freak is in the lineup, that they are a brutal matchup for Milwaukee.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Giannis Antetokounmpo, 2024 NBA Playoffs, Milwaukee Bucks Updates
The teams matched up five times in the 2023-24 NBA regular season and the Pacers came away with four wins. Their high-octane offensive game plan is one that the Bucks struggled with, as they have been inconsistent on defense all season.
Potentially having to play without their best player isn’t going to make that any easier for Milwaukee. They are going to be on major upset alert in the first round whether Antetokounmpo can get healthy enough to play or not.
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