Bucks guard Dellavedova returns for ankle exam
NEW YORK - Milwaukee Bucks point guard Matthew Dellavedova left the team on Monday to return to Milwaukee where he will undergo further evaluation of his right ankle, which he sprained on Sunday against the Brooklyn Nets.
How long he will stay out remains unclear, but the Bucks hope to get a better picture in the coming days.
“It’s hard to determine that and that’s why you send him home to make sure we get it looked at and make that determination once we know more," interim head coach Joe Prunty said following the team's practice at Basketball City in the Two Bridges neighborhood of Manhattan. "We just don’t know enough right now.”
What the team does know for certain, though, is it will be short-handed in the backcourt for Tuesday's 6:30 p.m. game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Dellavedova's injury combined with Malcolm Brogdon suffering a partial tear of his left quadriceps tendon last week in Minneapolis leaves the Bucks without two of their options at point guard.
One player that could be called upon to fill-in is two-way guard Xavier Munford, who played with the Wisconsin Herd on Saturday night in Oshkosh and joined the team Monday.
He's appeared in two games since signing a two-way contract on Jan. 7, logging just under two minutes against the Philadelphia 76ers on Jan. 20 and then playing seven minutes and scoring his first points in a Bucks uniform on Thursday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“Just knowing that my number can get called, I’m staying ready," Munford said. "The GM and the coaches they have a lot of confidence in me to be myself, and they put me out there to be confident, be myself and be aggressive so that’s what I’m going to do. Whatever I can do to help the team win.”
While Munford may be summoned to play more minutes on Tuesday, the Bucks certainly don't have their backs against the wall in terms of having capable ball-handlers. Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is listed as probable for Tuesday following his own right ankle sprain on Sunday, is among the Bucks players who are no strangers to running the point.
"The one thing about us is we have versatile players," Prunty said. "We know that Giannis can handle the ball some, Khris (Middleton) can handle the ball some and these guys can get us into our offense, which is the most important thing."