Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has been diagnosed with a hyperextended left knee and bone bruise, and sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Tuesday that he will be re-evaluated in one week.
Head coach Doc Rivers said Tuesday that imaging on Antetokounmpo’s knee showed no structural damage to his knee, but he did not not have more details on the injury or provide a timeline for Antetokounmpo’s return.
“The good news was it was really a good image. There was no damage,” Rivers said before Tuesday’s game against the Cavs. “It was really just good news. But I don’t know the next part [about a timeline].”
Antetokounmpo, 31, landed awkwardly after a dunk during the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the Pacers, and although he felt like he could play through it, the Bucks sat him for the rest of the game.
Tuesday’s game will mark the 32nd that Antetokounmpo will miss this season, the most of his career. He has also seen extended absences because of strains in his right calf.
Antetokounmpo played in six games since his March 2 return from his most recent absence, averaging 25.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists and 27 minutes as the team aimed to manage his workload.
“He was trying to fit 35 minutes into 20,” Rivers said assessing Antetokounmpo’s play since his comeback. “Even the last game he was still on I think 28, which is pretty honest, that’s tight. For a coach, that’s really tight.”
In 36 games this season, Antetokounmpo is still averaging 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists.
But Antetokounmpo’s return did not lift the Bucks any closer toward postseason contention. Milwaukee entered Tuesday as the No. 11 seed in the East, trailing Charlotte by 5 1/2 games for the No. 10 seed. The Bucks are 11-20 without Antetokounmpo in the lineup this season and 17-19 when he plays.
Milwaukee is also missing center Myles Turner on Tuesday with a right calf strain.
Tuesday will be the Bucks’ 68th game of the season, leaving just 14 games remaining for a team falling out of the playoff picture. Rivers said he did not know how the Bucks would weigh the risk of continuing Antetokounmpo’s season with the team falling so far out of contention.
“That’s a good question,” Rivers said on Tuesday. “I don’t have the answer, but it’s a very good question. Honestly, that’s all I have. … It’s something we will talk about.”
