Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo missed Thursday’s game against the Toronto Raptors. It came as a surprise, as he was not listed on the injury report prior to game time. Only minutes before the game, people noticed his name was not listed in the starting lineup on the arena monitor. After the game, Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer provided some clarity on Giannis.
#Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said Giannis Antetokounmpo felt the right calf and the next day or two are important to see how it feels.
“Hopefully it’s something very short term.”— Jim Owczarski (@JimOwczarski) December 3, 2021
Apparently Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a calf injury some time recently. The fact that Budenholzer said “hopefully it’s something very short term,” is not ideal.
The Bucks are a different team without the reigning league and NBA Finals MVP.
On Thursday, the Bucks saw their eight game winning streak come to an end. Without Giannis in the lineup, Bucks forward Pat Connaughton entered the starting lineup. Connaughton had been a happy surprise this season but struggled Thursday, finishing with only seven points in 31 minutes of action.
Bucks point guard Jrue Holiday stepped up in Giannis’ absence. He scored 26 points on 10-19 shooting. He added eight assists and six rebounds to go with it. But it was not enough as the Bucks bench did not come to play. Only two players from the Bucks bench scored Thursday with Connaughton forced to start.
The fact that Thursday was the 2nd night of a back to back might have played into the decision to sit the superstar forward. The Bucks have Friday off before opening a two game homestand against the the Miami Heat on Saturday and Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday.
From Budenholzer’s comments, it sounds possible the Greek Freak might be out another game or two at least.
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