MILWAUKEE — Till 3:40 remaining within the third quarter of Tuesday’s sport towards the Boston Celtics, issues have been going properly for the Milwaukee Bucks. In the midst of a four-game shedding streak, the Bucks have been up 15 factors on the NBA’s solely 60-win workforce..
Then catastrophe struck.
With out making contact with one other participant, Bucks ahead Giannis Antetokounmpo crumpled to the ground whereas working up the courtroom and instantly grabbed the decrease half of his left leg.
After sitting for a brief interval with teammates and a coach surrounding him, Antetokounmpo put weight on the leg after which put an arm across the shoulders of teammates Brook Lopez and Thanasis Antetokounmpo to be helped off the ground. Finally, Antetokounmpo walked again to the Bucks’ locker room below his personal energy.
Through the fourth quarter of Milwaukee’s 104-91 victory, the Bucks introduced Antetokounmpo had suffered a pressure in his left soleus, which is a muscle within the calf. After the sport, Bucks coach Doc Rivers instructed reporters that Antetokounmpo was present process additional testing after the sport for each his left calf, in addition to his left Achilles tendon.
“They’re testing him for the calf, which is clearly an MRI,” Rivers mentioned. “They’ll verify them each, yeah.”
Whereas Rivers confirmed additional testing, he did say that it had not but been accomplished and Antetokounmpo had simply left the sector to have the imaging carried out.
Bucks level guard Damian Lillard, who was bringing the ball as much as begin an offensive possession, was the closest participant to Antetokounmpo on the play when he noticed Antetokounmpo go down.
“Anytime you see one in every of your teammates go down, it’s an actual degree of concern,” Lillard mentioned. “We spend numerous time round one another, greater than we might our household, so I feel that was the primary factor. After which for it to be your greatest participant, an important a part of our workforce, at this level within the season, it was like an “Oh s—” second, particularly as a result of there was no one else round.
“And I used to be proper subsequent to him. So I simply noticed, like, sort of his facial features, like his response. So, clearly, I acquired scared. I knew we have been going to name timeout, so I simply dribbled as much as half courtroom, and when he stood up, I may inform he needed to attempt to put weight on it. And I noticed him put some weight on him and it was like, I suppose the response of him doing that’s what made him sort of virtually return down. However I noticed him put weight on it. So I used to be like, ‘All proper. It appears stronger than what I used to be considering.’
“And to see him simply have the ability to even stroll off on his personal, I feel that confirmed me lots. And so clearly, that was encouraging to see. And now you simply need him to get wholesome.”
Rivers agreed with Lillard that there’s actual concern about Antetokounmpo’s well being shifting ahead, particularly with the NBA playoffs beginning on Apr. 20.
“Excessive, I’d say that,” Rivers mentioned of his degree of concern. “However he’s Giannis. I feel everybody in all probability feels the identical approach as I do proper now. We’re simply going to hope for the most effective.”
With the win on Tuesday, Milwaukee moved to 48-31 on the season. With three regular-season video games remaining, the Bucks have a one-game lead over the New York Knicks for second place within the Jap Convention. The Bucks additionally maintain the tiebreaker over the Knicks, however have additional issues within the standings.
The Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers are each two video games again of the Bucks as properly. The Cleveland Cavaliers personal the division report tiebreaker over the Bucks, however have now misplaced three straight video games and gained solely three of their final 10 video games. Then again, the tiebreaker is up within the air towards the Magic, who face the Bucks twice within the closing three regular-season video games — first on Wednesday night time in Milwaukee after which on Sunday in Orlando for the regular-season finale for each groups.
In between their conferences with the Magic, the Bucks face the Thunder, who they beat March 24 in Oklahoma Metropolis. This season, the Bucks are 3-3 in video games Antetokounmpo doesn’t play.
The Bucks haven’t but introduced the outcomes of any of the additional imaging Antetokounmpo had carried out following the sport.
So, at this level, the one prognosis carried out by the workforce is a left soleus pressure. The soleus is one in every of two muscle groups that make up the calf, so groups will usually confer with soleus strains because the extra basic calf pressure, however there are cases the place groups have specified {that a} participant suffered from a soleus pressure. A kind of cases occurred final season with Lillard, whereas he was a member of the Portland Path Blazers.
“That s— damage,” Lillard mentioned in response to a query from The Athletic about the way it felt when had the identical harm within the first month of the 2022-23 season. “It damage. … After I did it, normally I’m capable of stroll issues off. I really feel like I’ve a excessive ache tolerance and once I did it, I began to stroll, it wasn’t simply that it was that painful, it was that the muscle simply can’t deal with it.
“So, I feel as soon as it calmed down, you sort of found out a method to limp round it, however it’s a bizarre feeling. However listening to that, I do know, I do know that feeling. And in addition as anyone who skilled that — if that’s what it’s — that’s additionally encouraging.”
For Lillard, his soleus harm really took place after a calf pressure in the identical leg stored him out earlier within the season. Lillard was first listed on the harm report with a proper calf pressure on Nov. 6, 2022, however he performed by way of the harm till he ultimately suffered a soleus pressure a couple of weeks later.
“After I did it, I strained my calf after which I got here again after like, I’d in all probability say, eight or 9 days, I got here again from the calf,” Lillard mentioned. “After which … I had the soleus harm like proper after I got here again. I feel it was like a sport or two after I got here again, I did my soleus. After which after that, it was like two weeks. For me, it was like two weeks after which I got here again and performed.”
Lillard was first listed on Portland’s harm report with the correct soleus pressure on Nov. 20 and he didn’t play once more till the Path Blazers performed the Indiana Pacers on Dec. 4, roughly 14 days after the preliminary prognosis.
For the Bucks, the NBA Playoffs are simply 11 days away, so Antetokounmpo’s timeline will rely solely on the seriousness of the soleus pressure and whether or not or not that’s the solely harm that has occurred when the workforce will get the outcomes of Tuesday night time’s checks again.
(Picture of Giannis Antetokoumpo: Stacy Revere / Getty Pictures)
