Giannis’ status is still in limbo
The final west coast road trip of the Milwaukee Bucks’ season comes to a close Tuesday night in San Francisco when they head to the Chase Center to take on Golden State, and the Bucks hope three days off from game play will have helped Giannis Antetokounmpo’s injured left knee.
Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said Antetokounmpo practiced Monday afternoon, but he’ll be evaluated Tuesday to see he’ll be able to play against the Warriors.
The Bucks play in Dallas on Thursday and then host Charlotte on Friday.
The 26-year-old two-time Most Valuable Player did not play Saturday night in Sacramento and has missed three games since March 22 with a left knee sprain.
It appeared Antetokounmpo was injured in the Bucks’ victory over San Antonio at Fiserv Forum on March 20. With 10 minutes, 28 seconds to go in the game Antetokounmpo drove into the paint and drew contact from the Spurs’ Rudy Gay and Drew Eubanks. Antetokounmpo fell awkwardly as he twisted to assist a Brook Lopez three-pointer and gingerly ran back down court.
He finished the game, however, but missed the following contest against Indiana on March 21 with what was called a sprain.
To that point Antetokounmpo had pushed his way back into the MVP conversation. From Feb. 1 through March 20 (22 games), he averaged 30.0 points while shooting 56.9% from the floor, 31.9% from behind the three-point line and was making 75.6% of his free throws. He also was averaging 12 rebounds, 7 assists and 1.5 blocks per game.
After missing the Pacers game, he didn’t look entirely himself against the Celtics on March 24 and 26. He shot 43.5% from the floor, 53.8% of his free throws and scored a total of 29 points. He
did not play the fourth quarter in the Bucks loss on the 26th.
“I felt good,” he said on March 24. “I was ready to play, able to feel my feet below me. I felt it was steady, I didn’t have that sharp pain. I was in a good place.”
Antetokounmpo did not play against New York on March 27 before playing two games in Los Angeles on March 29 and 31. Things seemed back in order as he played 33 minutes against the Clippers and 35 minutes against the Lakers, scoring 32 and 25 points, respectively.
The game in Portland on April 2 was odd, however.
During his pregame routine, cameras picked up two instances where Antetokounmpo was clearly affected by the knee.
The NBA TV feed showed the first moment in its pregame coverage, which saw him stop a drill, pause, and then resume it. The Portland broadcast showed a second instance of Antetokounmpo in noticeable discomfort, where he again stopped himself and then immediately went to the stands to take a seat. The local broadcast showed the videos on April 3 when Antetokounmpo was ruled out of the Kings game with left knee soreness.
“There’s some conversation about how he’s feeling, is he ready and kind of full clearance to go and play,” Budenholzer said on Saturday of the pre-game conversation in Portland. “And so, I think between conversations with Giannis and (director of performance Dr.) Troy (Flanagan) and everybody, feel good that he can go out and play. He had a special night. You’re never sure when those are going to come with Giannis. He has so many of them.
“But no, I mean the sports performance group, the way they communicate with our players, the kind of open dialogue back and forth and then at some point myself or (general manager) Jon (horst) are brought in. I think it’s in about as good a place as can be. Managing an NBA season and all that our players put into it and go through.”
Antetokounmpo then went on to play 33 minutes against the Trail Blazers, making 18 of 21 shots and 11 of 13 free throws. He scored 47 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the win.
“It felt good,” Antetokounmpo said of his knee after that game. “Obviously I gotta keep taking care of it, keep getting some treatment on it. But you know, I’m out there, I’m trying not to think about it. If I start thinking about it, it holds me back. But it’s in a good place. It can get better. I gotta keep taking care of it.”
The decision was then made to have Antetokounmpo sit out the next night against Sacramento. Beginning with Tuesday night’s game the Bucks play 23 games in the 40 days, including seven more back-to-backs.
Another Bucks player who has been out for some time is forward P.J. Tucker, who strained a calf on March 26 against Boston and has not played since. Budenholzer said Tucker has been able to do some physical activity on the road trip but there is no timetable for his return to the court.
Tucker was acquired in a trade with Houston on March 19.
When asked before the Kings game if there is a balance of looking ahead at the schedule along with the day-to-day of how a player is feeling in terms of making decisions on whether to have them play or shut it down for a time, Budenholzer acknowledged “It’s some of both.”
“You have to understand what you’ve been through to date and what you have coming forward,” he continued. “So I think all of that just goes into kind of the conversation. And it’s all important.”