Giannis Antetokounmpo has avoided the worst with his latest injury, but he will still have to miss some time during a crucial period of the season.
An MRI scan confirmed that the two-time NBA MVP suffered a strain in his left calf during the Bucks’ win over the Celtics on Tuesday, forcing him to miss the final three games of the regular season. Ta.
The Bucks had this to say about Antetokounmpo: He will be “treated and evaluated daily” for the injury, but it is unclear whether he will be ready for the first round of the playoffs, which begins on April 20th.
This comes after ESPN reported earlier Wednesday that Antetokounmpo’s Achilles tendon is intact following the injury.
Antetokounmpo gave the Bucks a scare in the third quarter of Tuesday night’s game against the top-seeded Celtics in Milwaukee.
Late in the third quarter, after inbounding the ball to teammate Damian Lillard, Antetokounmpo took a few steps before falling to the ground and clutching the back of his left leg.
He was helped off the court at Fiserv Forum by teammates, but ended up missing the remainder of the game with a calf injury.
The eight-time All-Star had 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Head coach Doc Rivers said after the game that he was “very” concerned about his star player’s injury.
“Expensive, that’s what I would say,” Rivers told reporters. “He’s Giannis. I think you guys probably feel the same way I do right now. We just hope for the best.”
Lillard added that being this late in the season added to his anxiety.
“I think every time you see one of your teammates go down, that’s a big concern,” Lillard said. “We spend more time around each other than we do with our families. I think that was No. 1. And that’s what we do to our best players, the most important parts of our team. Naru, at this point in the season, was like, “Oh.” [damn]It was that moment, especially since there was no one else around. ”
The Bucks hold the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference heading into Wednesday night’s game, just one game behind the Knicks and just two games behind the Magic and Cavaliers.
It was an up-and-down season for Milwaukee, which fired first-year head coach Adrian Griffin after posting a 30-13 record in 43 games.
However, the team struggled after bringing Rivers on board, going just 16-17 under his leadership and allowing the rest of the East teams to catch up in the standings.
Antetokounmpo was sidelined for some time last month as he dealt with a hamstring issue and left Achilles tendonitis suffered in March.
This season, he averaged 30.4 points and 11.5 rebounds per game.
The Bucks face the Magic on Wednesday, the Thunder on Friday and close out the regular season with their next game against Orlando on Sunday.
