The Milwaukee Bucks’ 2023-24 NBA regular season did not end on a high note. Their losses to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Orlando Magic cost them the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, as they were jumped by the red-hot New York Knicks.
The Bucks will be in the No. 3 seed, matching up with the No. 6 seed Indiana Pacers in the first round. That is a brutal matchup for Milwaukee, as Indiana found plenty of success against them in the regular season, going 4-1.
As if things weren’t going to be difficult enough for the Bucks, they have shared some crushing news. Their start, Giannis Antetokounmpo, is not going to be ready to get on the court for the start of their first-round series in the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
According to NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Bucks are preparing to be without Antetokounmpo to start their series against the Pacers. There is hope that he can get back on the court sometime later in the series as he will be rehabbing and receiving treatment every day.
That is a brutal blow for the Bucks, who are not contenders in the Eastern Conference without Antetokounmpo in the lineup. Essentially being announced out so many days in advance of the game isn’t a great sign for where he is in his rehab, either.
Antetokounmpo suffered his calf injury on April 9th against the Boston Celtics. He was inbounding the ball and crumbled to the ground on a non-contact injury. People feared the worst, as that is usually a sign of an Achilles injury.
Luckily for the Bucks and Antetokounmpo, his Achilles was intact as he was dealing with a calf strain. Milwaukee needs to be careful with how they move forward as The Greek Freak did deal with some Achilles soreness late in the season.
Pushing him through a calf injury could result in a more serious or damaging injury occurring. People will remember Kevin Durant missed about a month with a calf injury during the 2019 NBA Playoffs with the Golden State Warriors. In his first game back, he ruptured his Achilles and missed the ensuing season.
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