Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo will be without the services of two key running mates for the Bucks' Friday night bubble opener against the Boston Celtics.

Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer announced the news Thursday that Eric Bledsoe and Pat Connaughton will not suit up:

Bledsoe and Connaughton were late to arrive in Orlando after coming down with COVID-19, and they're still working their way back into game shape. Both players were participants in Thursday's practice but entered the bubble late after successfully clearing the NBA's mandatory quarantine protocols:

“It's a little bit of conditioning, a little bit of just rhythm and everything,” Budenholzer said, via ESPN. “Everybody else is getting ready to play in a live game and have had 10 to 12 to 14 days of probably 5-on-5 every other day and individual work and all that, so I think giving Bled and Pat a couple of 5-on-5 sessions at a minimum and getting some 3-on-3 in other situations or days. They just need to play, so I think that's a big hurdle, and with playing will come both conditioning and their rhythm, so we're going to make sure they get some of that before we put them in an NBA game.”

With Bledsoe out, the Bucks will likely give second-year guard Donte DiVincenzo a bit more playing time. Bledsoe was named to the 2019 NBA All-Defensive First Team, so the team will miss his efforts on that end of the floor.

Milwaukee enters the NBA restart with the best record in the NBA at 53-12. The mighty Bucks have a 6.5-game lead on the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference. Boston is in third.

Friday night's Bucks-Celtics matchup is scheduled to tip at 6:30 p.m. ET, with ESPN having live broadcast coverage. Hopefully, Bledsoe and Connaughton will be cleared to play sooner rather than later.