Giannis Antetokounmpo will not play for the Milwaukee Bucks in Wednesday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Bucks confirmed the development through their Twitter account, with Coach Mike Budenholzer saying that their all-Star forward is not yet ready despite making significant progress in his recovery from ankle injury.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is out tonight. #Bucks
— Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) March 20, 2019
Coach Bud: Giannis is making progress. He just can’t go tonight.
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) March 20, 2019
Giannis Antetokounmpo injured his ankle in a St. Patrick's Day duel against the Philadelphia 76ers. He also sat out the team's recent win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Greek Freak was unlikely to risk potential re-injury during a back-to-back, especially against two lowly teams like the Lakers and Cavs. The Bucks still have a three-game lead on the Toronto Raptors for the top seed in the Eastern Conference, and with Toronto also being cautious with Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry, Milwaukee has some wiggle room in managing Antetokounmpo's health.
Despite playing the fewest minutes per game since his second season in the league, there has been concern over Antetokounmpo's usage, especially after he said that his knee problems stem from playing “too much”.
Although this issue stems from the injury to the ankle, Bucks fans will likely be fine giving their young superstar another day of rest.
Antetokounmpo has the fifth-highest usage rate out of all players that have played at least 50 games, according to NBA.com.
The 24-year-old first broke out as an All-Star in 2016-17 and has now evolved into arguably the most dominant player in the game. With averages of 27.5 points, 12.7 rebounds and 6.0 aassists on nearly 60 percent shooting, Antetokounmpo is a leading candidate for the league's Most Valuable Player award.
The Bucks have not made it past the first round of the playoffs in the last two years, but they are in position to secure home-court advantage. Still, they need Antetokounmpo to be fully healthy as they prepare for the stretch run.
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