Bucks Injury Report: Latest on Preseason Health of 4 Milwaukee Standouts

The Bucks aren't quite the walking wounded yet, but they're not as healthy as fans would prefer.

Mar 28, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton (22) and forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) block New Orleans Pelicans guard Trey Murphy III (25) on a free throw attempt during the second half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Bucks aren't quite the walking wounded just yet (that'd be the Memphis Grizzlies, who are already potentially down Ja Morant and GG Jackson for a while), but they're not as healthy as fans would no doubt prefer them to be this year.

When expected starting shooting guard Gary Trent Jr. was compelled to leave the third quarter of the team's Sunday preseason bout against the Detroit Pistons with a hyperextended left elbow, he was just the latest starter whose preseason fate was suddenly up in the air.

Per Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, head coach Doc Rivers was bullish the 6-foot-5 vet would be on the floor again sooner rather than later.

Trent skipped practice on Tuesday, but head coach Doc Rivers was optimistic, noting that he would not undergo further imaging for the ailment, incurred on a screen from Pistons center Jalen Duren.

“He’ll be fine,” Rivers said. “He’ll probably play on Thursday [in a preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers]. I can’t guarantee that, but I think so.”

One of the Bucks' other marquee below-market minimum free agent signings, combo forward Taurean Prince, had been screened illegally by Duren and appeared to hurt his midsection, but finished out the game. Prince, too, is expected to be fine.

“Just ill effects from calling illegal screens – there was a lot of that the other night,” Rivers said of Prince.

"I'm feeling good," he said. "I wear padded tights so I just lost my breath. It wasn't really the hit, it was just me losing my breath and trying to catch everything back."

All-NBA Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, the team's lone perennial MVP contender, sat out the Pistons matchup. In fairness, the two-time league MVP has skipped the team's first preseason game every year since 2020.

Rivers anticipated that Antetokounmpo will be available for the Lakers game, albeit playing potentially limited minutes, but added that “then we’ll ramp his minutes up."

Following a pair of summer surgeries on his ankles, oft-hurt three-time Milwaukee All-Star small forward Khris Middleton could suit up for multiple preseason bouts this year, in a bit of a happy surprise.

“I do think maybe the last two (games), but there’s no guarantee there,” Rivers said. “It’s slow because without Khris live (five-on-five) we’ve resisted putting in a lot of stuff because I want to put it in with him.”

If he does manage to suit up in the preseason, it seems that odds are in Middleton's favor for joining the Bucks just in time for their regular season start against the Philadelphia 76ers on October 23.

"I don't think it's going to be hard to get him in there," an optimistic Prince opined of integrating Middleton in team actions. "Granted, he's been in a lot of drills. He's been in a lot of practices. Very present. Asks his questions. So, with that being said I think it'll be an easy transition for him and us. the only thing he doesn't do is go live right now, but for us it's really just concepts, knowing what we want to do, what we want to get to offensively."

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