The Milwaukee Bucks will likely start the playoffs without Giannis Antetokounmpo.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Bucks aren’t expecting their two-time MVP to start their first-round matchup against the Indiana Pacers. They hope he can return later in the series.
Antetokounmpo missed the final three games of the regular season due to a left calf strain. He fell to the floor on a non-contact injury during last Tuesday’s win over the Boston Celtics.
Healthy for most of the 2023-24 season, Antetokounmpo played his most games (73) and averaged his most minutes (35.2) since 2017-18. He registered 30.4 points, 11.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks per contest with a career-high 61.1 field-goal percentage.
While Milwaukee added star point guard Damian Lillard to the fold this season, the Greek Freak would obviously be a monumental loss whose absence would put their title hopes in grave jeopardy.
The Bucks know better than anyone not to take a first-round series for granted. They fell to the Miami Heat as the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed last postseason.
That upset led Milwaukee to replace Mike Budenholzer with Adrian Griffin, whom the Bucks fired after a 30-13 start. They went 17-19 behind Doc Rivers.
By losing seven of the final 10 games, Milwaukee avoids an opening rematch with Miami or Rivers’ former team, the Philadelphia 76ers. However, the Bucks lost four of their five regular-season meetings to Indiana despite Giannis averaging 42.2 points, including 64 in the lone victory.
Antetokounmpo appears unlikely to play in Game 1 when the series starts Sunday.