Raptors Avoid Giannis Antetokounmpo Again as Bucks Rule Out Former MVP

The Toronto Raptors will again avoid Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo who is out with a non-COVID illness

Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

For the third straight game, the Toronto Raptors will play a team missing their best player.

The Milwaukee Bucks have ruled out former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo due to a non-COVID illness, the team announced. It'll be the second time this season Antetokounmpo has been a late addition to the injury report and been held out against the Raptors.

The Raptors have gone through a very strange stretch lately. They played a shorthanded Golden State team without Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Andrew Wiggins back in mid-December. Then had three games postponed. When they returned, Toronto was missing its best players for a pair of games against Cleveland and Philadelphia. That gave way to three straight games in which the Raptors have played the New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs, and Bucks who have all been missing their best players, Julius Randle, Dejounte Murray, and Antetokounmpo.

The Raptors had opened as +7.5 to +8.5-point underdogs, but Antetokounmpo's absence has moved the line to +4.0 for Toronto on most sites.

The Bucks will also be without head coach Mike Budenholzer who has reportedly entered COVID-19 protocols.

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