Milwaukee Bucks’ Injuries Are Piling Up At The Worst Time

The Milwaukee Bucks have always prioritized health under head coach Mike Budenholzer’s tutelage. Perhaps, that’s why it’s so frustrating the injuries are piling up at the worst time—one week before the postseason begins.

Budenholzer drastically reduced the minutes of his top players, such as Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo, when he arrived in Milwaukee. Antetokounmpo averaged 36.7 minutes the year before Budenholzer came in 2018-19 and hasn’t played more than 33 minutes a night since. Middleton’s per-game averages went from 36.4 to never playing more than 33.4. Jrue Holiday experienced a similar fate when he arrived in a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans.

Milwaukee is conservative with their player management, prioritizing long-term gains over short-term victories. They’re also notoriously vague about injury updates, often leaving fans and the media in the dark about the significance and projected timeline for a given player. That makes the current situation even more challenging to predict.

It’s been a season-long battle, dating back to last year’s playoffs when Middleton went down with a knee injury. He then proceeded to have wrist surgery on an ailment that had been bothering him since the All-Star break. The two procedures, but mostly the knee, have cost him most of this season.

He’s only played in 33 games and averaged 24.3 minutes per game. After a slow start following his second return, he’s picked it up a bit lately. After sitting out Tuesday’s game against the Washington Wizards, he only lasted eight minutes in Wednesday’s contest against the Chicago Bulls.

On the game’s first offensive possession, he attempted a fadeaway jumper on the right baseline and came up slightly limping afterward. He played through it and finished his first stint on the court, but didn’t return to the game afterward and was ruled out with right knee soreness.

Budenholzer was asked postgame about Middleton’s injury and whether he’ll return for the final two regular season games, “I don’t know. I think we’ll learn more and know more going forward, so I couldn’t say tonight.” He also described it as a “re-aggravation” of the right knee soreness.

I don’t expect Milwaukee to reveal much about Middleton’s status one way or the other. The only way he’ll get on the court in their next two games is if he’s 100 percent ready.

The Middleton situation is problematic enough, but there are other red flags on the team.

Giannis Antetokounmpo went through a shortened pre-game warmup against the Bulls before calling it quits and being ruled out. He was listed as probable going into the game with right knee soreness and that was given as the reason for him not playing against Chicago.

There shouldn’t be much concern about whether Antetokounmpo will be ready for the postseason. Milwaukee likely acted in an abundance of caution. However, it is concerning he played in the fewest games of his NBA career (not including the COVID-shortened seasons). It was mostly the knee, but he’s also been dealing with a right wrist injury he suffered right before the All-Star break.

The list goes on.

Grayson Allen sprained his ankle against the Philadelphia 76ers and hasn’t played since. He’s been ruled out for the regular season and it sounds as if his recovery would have to go perfectly to give him a chance to play in their first game of the playoffs.

Pat Connaughton followed in Allen’s footsteps (no pun intended) by spraining his ankle on Tuesday against the Wizards. We don’t have an update on his status yet.

It feels odd to say, but the Bucks have a little time on their side if the injuries aren’t severe. Due to the play-in tournament, the first-round doesn’t start until April 15th, nine days away. The semi-finals won’t begin until May 1st, 24 days away (it could be moved up to April 29th if the first-round flies by). The conference finals won’t start until May 16th (with the possibility of being moved up to May 14th) which is 39 days away.

Milwaukee can absolutely beat their first-round opponent without Middleton, Connaughton, and Allen. They would be favored in a semi-final contest against either the Cleveland Cavaliers or New York Knicks without them as well. Obviously, their departures would make it a lot more difficult.

The sooner they can return, the better, but the main task they’ll need them back for is the conference finals.

Milwaukee will do everything they can to get their players ready with the ultimate goal of winning another NBA Championship in mind. We’ll see if the injuries allow them to accomplish their dream or if they are a barrier for the second season in a row.