There has been plenty of speculation regarding the health of Milwaukee Bucks forward Nikola Mirotic. Fortunately, it appears he will be able to play in Game 1 versus the Detroit Pistons.
Mirotic has been nursing a thumb fracture for nearly a month now. According to the latest update from head coach Mike Budenholzer, he will be able to play against Detroit, albeit on limited minutes.
F Nikola Mirotic will play for Milwaukee tonight in G1 vs. Pistons, coach Mike Budenholzer says. Mirotic had L thumb fracture. Expect limited minutes due to conditioning.
— Steve Aschburner (@AschNBA) April 14, 2019
The cautious approach from Milwaukee is certainly understandable. Nikola Mirotic has not played a real game for quite some time due to the thumb injury. The Bucks are not looking to run him into the ground in his first game back.
Mirotic made his bones in last year's playoffs while he was still with the New Orleans Pelicans. His ability to stretch the floor proved to be a vital element in the Pelicans' playoff run.It is safe to say that this is largely the reason the Bucks were adamant about bringing him on this season.
The 28-year-old forward averaged 11.6 points and 5.4 rebounds for Milwaukee this season. More importantly, he shot 35.6 percent from deep, which is right around his career average.
There is no question that the Bucks have generated plenty of hype as the No. 1 seed in the East. They will need all the help they can get if they hope to stay atop the Eastern Conference through the postseason. If Mirotic is able to handle the workload, he could see an increase in minutes moving forward.
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