Giannis Antetokounmpo did not appear to be 100% despite playing 32 minutes in the Milwaukee Bucks' 102-100 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday, Jan. 23, at Fiserv Forum. Antetokounmpo was subbed out for good with 34 seconds left in the game and the Bucks down 99-94. Though the Bucks cut the deficit to 99-97 after that, he did not re-enter the game for the final possessions.
Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said after the game that Antetokounmpo was subbed out due to what appeared to be a right calf strain. Antetokounmpo said he will get an MRI on Jan. 24 and he expects, based on his history of calf strains, he will be sidelined four to six weeks.
At the 3:57 mark of the first quarter, Antetokounmpo subbed out with the Bucks trailing 14-12. As he approached the bench, he was briefly greeted by head trainer Scott Faust and immediately walked down the tunnel toward the locker room, but quickly doubled back to the court.
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The Bucks called a timeout about 30 seconds later, and Antetokounmpo spent the entire break out on the court going through movement drills. He did slides back and forth, would pop into a defensive stance, and mimicked pushing off his right leg.
Once he rejoined the bench the Bucks training staff wrapped his right calf. The FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin broadcast noted a grimace from the star after he was called for a goaltend trying to complete a chase down block at the 5:29 mark.
Prior to the stoppage in play, Antetokounmpo did appear to be laboring to a degree and looked uncomfortable on the defensive end prior to being subbed out. He logged about eight minutes, scoring four points and handing out three assists.
He returned to the game with 7:30 to go in the first half, and still appeared to be working something out in his right calf as he bounced on his toes on his way to the scorer's table. Then, during a Myles Turner free throw, Antetokounmpo did more slides and planted hard in the back court.
Following a dunk at the 6:10 mark, he hung on the rim long enough to center his gravity and then landed on his left leg as Denver called for time. During the break, Antetokounmpo had his calf wrapped immediately again and he continued to walk around to stay warm. Later, he walked out of a timeout rubbing his right leg below the knee.
Even though he didn't move much defensively or offensively, or for rebounds, and didn't get much lift on any of his jumpers, he remained in the game and instead tried to create for his teammates. He logged 16 first half minutes, but scored just eight points on 2 of 5 shooting. That would be how he approached the second half, too, attempting just a few more shots.
Antetokounmpo missed eight games with a soleus strain in his right calf from Dec. 5-26. He initially suffered the injury early in a game against Detroit on Dec. 3.
He has been on a minute restriction ever since his return on Dec. 27, playing about 31 per game. Doc Rivers said when the team was in Atlanta on Jan. 19 that Antetokounmpo would be on that type of restriction for the foreseeable future.
"This is planned," Rivers said. "I think it’s probably frustrating for Giannis. It’s definitely frustrating for us. But we feel strongly this is the right thing to do and we’re not going to come off of it, probably for awhile.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Giannis Antetokounmpo expects he could miss several weeks; awaits MRI
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