Bucks News: Latest on Giannis Antetokounmpo Injury

Matt Levine | Nov 7, 2024

Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Bucks are currently 1-6 in the new season as they get ready to take on the Utah Jazz. It hasn't been pretty to open the new year and Milwaukee has played fairly inconsistently to open the season.

One main reason for this has been injuries hitting the team. The Bucks have been without Khris Middleton through the first part of the season and now are dealing with an injury to star Giannis Antetokounmpo.

He missed the last game against the Cleveland Cavaliers due to a right adductor strain. The star went through a morning shootaround before the team decided to give him an off day.

Bucks head coach Doc Rivers spoke about the decision to sit his star against Cleveland. Milwaukee ended up losing the game to the Cavaliers.

“I had decided in my own mind that he shouldn’t play tonight right when they told me he that he was sore (Saturday),” Rivers said. “I was happy when they said — not happy because you want him to play — but for his health I think it’s the right thing.”

The Bucks want to be careful with their star player, even with the slow start to the year. They know that they can't afford for him to miss too much time so sitting him early on is crucial.

Antetokounmpo is now being listed as questionable for the team's matchup with the Utah Jazz on Thursday.

Here is the Bucks injury report for Thursday’s game vs. Utah:

Out:
Khris Middleton (Bilateral Ankle Surgery)
AJ Johnson (G League)
Chris Livingston (G League)

Questionable:
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Right Adductor Strain)

— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) November 6, 2024

If Antetokounmpo can't give it a go against Utah, others will need to step up. The Jazz have been one of the worst teams in the NBA this season, holding a record of 1-6.

It's the perfect opportunity, whether Antetokounmpo plays or not, for Milwaukee to start getting back on track. The Bucks still have star point guard Damian Lillard to carry the load if Antetokounmpo can't play in this game.

Milwaukee still believes in themselves and just needs some time to turn things around. Rivers spoke on the beliefs of this group.

“This is a positive group,” Rivers said. “We believe we’re a really good basketball team that has played poorly at times. The last two games you could say we played well and lost the games.”

Getting Antetokounmpo healthy and ready to go is the priority so he could miss this game against a more winnable opponent. But knowing the competitor that he is, Antetokounmpo may want to play in this game after missing the last one.

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