UPDATE at 10:00 a.m. CST on April 16, 2024: One day after The Athletic reported that Giannis Antetokounmpo’s status for the first game of the 2024 Playoffs is in doubt, ESPN NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski released his own report confirming the Milwaukee Bucks are preparing to begin their postseason without the two-time MVP.
Despite receiving what Wojnarowski’s source called “around-the-clock treatment on the calf,” it’s looking more likely that Antetokoumpo will miss the beginning of Milwaukee’s first-round Playoff series versus an Indiana Pacers ballclub that beat them four of five times they met in the regular season and In-Season Tournament.
The following breaking news report has been left unaltered from when it was initially published.
MILWAUKEE — Nursing a strain to his left soleus muscle in the calf, Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is at risk of missing the start of the 2024 Playoffs as his team prepares for a first-round matchup vs. an Indiana Pacers team that beat them in three of four regular season games and the In-Season Tournament.
As reported by The Athletic’s NBA Insider, Shams Charania, Giannis is at risk of missing at least the first game of his team’s Playoff run despite rehabilitating from his injury every day since he was hurt in a victory against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, April 9.
“There is some real doubt for his status to begin series vs. Pacers on Sunday, sources say,” Charania tweeted. “Although Giannis has rare recovery ability, he’s very much up in the air for Game 1.”
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Milwaukee lost two of its last three games without Giannis and won just three of their final 10 games to finish the 2023-24 regular season. Despite the troubles, the Bucks finished sixth in overall offensive rating and 11th in total net rating on the season for the third seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Bucks will surely do everything they can to play this safe and protect their superstar’s long-term future. Dr. Samuel Steiner, a Sports Orthopedic Surgeon with the Orthopaedic Associates of Wisconsin (OAW), told 620 WTMJ that while he wouldn’t consider the re-injury risk associated with your average soleus injury severe, it is certainly elevated.
“You have a slightly higher risk whenever you’ve strained a muscle, of doing the same thing again,” Dr. Steiner explained. “It heals with a little bit of scar tissue in the muscle, so it’s not the same as it ever once was, but with proper treatment and stretching, the hope is that it’s not reinjured.”
The Milwaukee Bucks have not officially announced Giannis’ Playoff injury status, but confirmed in their initial announcement he’d be assessed on a day-by-day basis.
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