The highly anticipated Milwaukee Bucks vs. Toronto Raptors showdown on Monday night is losing much of its luster.
Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo will sit out the game against the Raptors due to oral surgery, according to the team. He had previously been listed on the injury report as probable due to a toothache.
While Milwaukee has already clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, it's still a bummer that Antetokounmpo will not be playing in this rematch of last year's Eastern Conference Finals. Toronto won that series in six games after the Bucks won the first two.
The Raptors, even without 2019 Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, have still managed to clinch the No. 2 spot in the East with a 50-19 record, behind only the Bucks' 55-15 mark. Toronto still has Pascal Siakam, Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, and Marc Gasol leading the way, along with a great head coach in Nick Nurse.
As of right now, nobody knows how long the Bucks star may be out. There's a chance Antetokounmpo misses Milwaukee's final two seeding games as well, just to be cautious.
The reigning MVP is averaging 29.8 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 5.7 assists this season. His dominance has continued in the NBA bubble, even if the Bucks have had their struggles as a team, and he's in line to potentially win both MVP and Defensive Player of the year.
Milwaukee is 2-3 in the bubble thus far and will try to regroup without its superstar for the time being. The most important thing for Giannis and the Bucks is getting to the playoffs healthy, but they'd also like to get a bit more rhythm as they prepare for the games that really count.
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