The Milwaukee Bucks are set to kick off the second half of their season on Thursday as they get set to take on the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Bucks will look for their 30th win of the season; however, they could look to do it without their superstar forward, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The 30-year-old superstar was diagnosed with a mild left calf strain a week before the All-Star game and was expected to remain out for at least a week.
As we approach the Bucks’ next game, they have listed Antetokounmpo as questionable prior to the game. It is unclear if he will play, but he spoke to the media after practice on Wednesday and provided an update on his calf injury.
He told Eric Nehm of The Athletic that his calf injury is similar to the one that sidelined him for last year’s playoffs.
Nehm also asked if he was scared or worried about it, and here’s what the two-time MVP had to say.
“Nothing scary, but just gotta be, I’m very aware of my body. I kind of felt the same way, I kinda had the same feeling I had and felt the same pain I had before I got her last year (vs. Boston on April 9). I didn’t get hurt at the spot, that wasn’t the first time I felt that. I felt eight days prior to that, maybe like a week or two prior to that and then you overcompensate or you keep on playing and you’re like, ‘Ok, it’s just going to be tight, it’s going to be stiff. I’m going to play through it.’ But I didn’t. I wasn’t able to play through it and I got hurt so I kinda had the same feeling and I’m smarter. I don’t want to be in the same position so me and the team thought it would be the best idea to take a few games off, get it right, get back healthy. You don’t want to go out there and play with fear. You don’t want to go out there and play with fear and overcome scene and don’t be 100 percent and don’t be comfortable. You don’t want to do that, so that’s why I was out.”
Antetokounmpo has missed crucial time the past handful of years, especially in the postseason.
He does not want that to happen again, so he is extremely cautious with his calf injury.
The Bucks will have no shot at a deep playoff run without Antetokounmpo, so he wants to make sure he is as close to 100 percent as possible by the time the playoffs approach.
The Bucks sit as the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference as we approach the team’s final 29 games of the regular season.
More Bucks: Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard Land on Injury Report Ahead of Clippers Clash
For more Bucks news, visit Milwaukee Bucks on SI
