MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Bucks are gearing up for the post-season unsure in regards to the well being of each of their prime two gamers.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers stated neither two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo nor seven-time all-NBA guard Damian Lillard practiced on Tuesday. Rivers stated he didn’t know whether or not both would observe all week, however identified each may play Sunday in Recreation 1 of their Jap Convention first-round sequence with the Indiana Pacers with out practising beforehand.
Antetokounmpo is recovering from a left calf pressure that brought about him to overlook the Bucks’ ultimate three regular-season video games. Antetokounmpo was making an attempt to run up the court docket throughout Milwaukee’s victory over the Boston Celtics on April 9 when he took a seat on the ground and grabbed his left leg, with an MRI revealing he had a strained soleus.
“He’s doing effectively,” Rivers stated Tuesday. “He’s strolling round, appears good. I can say (he’s) farther than we thought he could be, however simply not prepared but.”
Rivers wouldn’t speculate on the possibilities of Antetokounmpo taking part in Sunday.
“I’m not going to decide – initially, I don’t make the choice – however our medical group is saying they don’t know, so I’m going to attend and see,” Rivers stated. “I actually don’t know come what may.”
Antetokounmpo averaged 42.2 factors and 13 rebounds within the Bucks’ 5 regular-season video games with the Pacers. Within the Bucks’ lone victory over the Pacers this season, Antetokounmpo scored 64 factors to set the Bucks’ single-game document.
Lillard sat out a loss at Oklahoma Metropolis on Friday with a sore left adductor. He returned two days later, however shot simply 2 of 14 from the ground in a loss at Orlando.
“We’ve finished all of the imaging and all that stuff, so he’s good, I can let you know that,” Rivers stated. “We really feel like, and so do our medical doctors, let’s give him somewhat extra relaxation. He’s nonetheless doing conditioning and issues like that, however we went stay rather a lot immediately and we simply didn’t need him on the market.”
Bucks ahead Bobby Portis expressed confidence Lillard could be prepared by the beginning of the sequence.
“It wasn’t like a shock or something that Dame sat out,” Portis stated. “It’s Tuesday, and the sport’s Sunday, so it’s a great distance away. So I don’t need no person to place an excessive amount of stress on that. I believe we’re sort of blowing the factor out of proportion an excessive amount of.”
The Bucks are accustomed to coping with harm points within the post-season.
Antetokounmpo has an extended historical past of recovering rapidly from accidents, with essentially the most notable instance coming in the course of the Bucks’ 2021 championship run.
Antetokounmpo hyperextended his left knee in Recreation 4 of the Jap Convention finals that 12 months and missed the ultimate two video games of the Bucks’ 4-2 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. However he returned to play your entire NBA Finals and was named MVP of the sequence after scoring 50 factors in a title-clinching Recreation 6 triumph over the Phoenix Suns.
Accidents have hindered the Bucks in every of their two post-seasons since.
Khris Middleton sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee in Recreation 2 of a 2022 first-round sequence with the Chicago Bulls and missed the remainder of the playoffs, together with your entire Jap Convention semifinal that the Bucks misplaced 4-3 to the Boston Celtics.
Final 12 months, Antetokounmpo bruised his decrease again after getting fouled and touchdown onerous in Recreation 1 of the Bucks’ first-round playoff sequence with the Miami Warmth. Antetokounmpo sat out the remainder of that recreation and likewise missed Milwaukee’s subsequent two video games earlier than returning in Recreation 4 of a sequence the Bucks misplaced 4-1.
Now, the Bucks are bracing for the likelihood they may not have Antetokounmpo once more.
“Till we all know if he’s taking part in or not, we’re going to organize like he’s not taking part in – easy as that,” Middleton stated.