Giannis Antetokounmpo’s knee has been the biggest story in Wisconsin sports for a week and a half now.
It’s time for that to change.
The Bucks star was able to play in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, by and large, without incident.
Now, ahead of Game 2, he’s been removed from the injury report entirely.
The Bucks and Giannis are saying to all of us, “stop talking about it, stop worrying about it, stop using it as a potential excuse. It’s over.”
To their everlasting credit, they never used the knee as an excuse for their shortcomings.
If anything, they used it as motivation to get over the hump and into The Finals for the first time in 47 years.
Now, that motivational tactic is gone, too.
The series isn’t over if they can’t steal tonight’s Game 2.
But the balance of the series shifts dramatically if they come home tied at one game a piece with a healthy Giannis, something that seemed like an impossibility just 9 days ago.
As far as I’m concerned, the Milwaukee Bucks are back at full strength.
It’s time to play like it.