Giannis Antetokounmpo has missed the first two games of the Milwaukee Bucks‘ first-round series with the Indiana Pacers. He has remained sidelined with a left calf strain suffered in the team’s 104-91 victory over the Boston Celtics on April 9th, missing the final three regular season games as well.
Speaking on the Run It Back podcast, Shams Charania provided an update on the two-time MVP, stating:
The key for Giannis right now with this calf injury is starting to do some jumping on [his] shooting. And I’m told he has at least started to do some stationary jump shooting and that was a big development for him, but still not much cutting, no scrimmaging, no all out running yet and those are all things in the natural progression that he’s going to need to have if he’s going to come back from a calf injury. This is the same leg we’ve talked about Achilles, hamstring, and now calf. They need to be cautious, they need to be careful.
Game 3 is Friday. I think the fact that [he] hasn’t progressed to that – we’ll see if he does over the next two days – Game 3 might be pushing it. Game 4 on Sunday, but I think the Bucks have to be prepared to keep playing on without Giannis, making sure he’s 100% when he does make it back.
Check out Shams Charania’s full comments on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s status below:
After winning Game 1 of the series in a performance that was much more dominant than the 109-94 final score, Milwaukee squandered home-court advantage in Game 2, falling 125-108. The eight-time All-Star also battled injury last postseason, leading to the Bucks being eliminated in the first round, despite being the Eastern Conference’s top-seed. Antetokounmpo averaged 30.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 61.1% from the field this season.
What did Shams Charania previously say about Giannis Antetokounmpo’s injury?
Giannis Antetokounmpo is pivotal the Milwaukee Bucks’ postseason hopes. Shams Charania previously provided an update on the two-time MVP’s status during an appearance on the Run It Back podcast on Tuesday, stating:
Giannis is progressing slowly, but surely. He’s doing some on-court work, ball handling drills, but it’s mostly been stationary shooting from what I’m told, free-throw line shooting. And the fact that not being able to jump fully, as of yet, the expectation is Giannis is missing multiple games in this series. From what I’m told, this is a 2-4 week injury. Tuesday, Game 2, marks two weeks for Giannis since the injury so you’re looking at his window starting really over the next week, two weeks for a potential return.
Check out Shams Charania’s full comments on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s status below:
While the Bucks looked to be in the driver seat of the series after Game 1 – in which they led by as many as 30 points and never trailed after the first four minutes of the game – Game 2 was a different story. As fans saw last postseason, Milwaukee can be vulnerable without their two-time MVP. Despite the offseason of Damian Lillard, they will need Antetokounmpo back sooner than later, if they want to avoid another early postseason exit.
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