As nasty as the fall was, Giannis Antetokounmpo may not miss more time with his bruised back.
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said on Monday that Antetokounmpo’s MRI came back “clean.”
"I think still mostly positive, mostly optimistic."
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) April 17, 2023
Coach Bud gives an update on Giannis: pic.twitter.com/AObAFNgVNf
“I would say he’s still sore, but I think progress. And he’s getting some more treatment and I think we’ll just continue to monitor him for the next day or two. Probably fortunate that there are two days between games, so I think still mostly positive, mostly optimistic, but we’ll see how he feels over the next day or two.”
There have been multiple reports of “optimism” around the Bucks that Antetokounmpo will be able to play in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Antetokounmpo injured his back on a nasty fall in the first quarter Sunday when Kevin Love slid under him to try and take a charge. (This, along with the Ja Morant injury when Anthony Davis tried to draw a charge, has led to questions about if the NBA should have a block/charge rule.)
Giannis with a scary fall 😳
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 16, 2023
Fortunately, he's ok 🙏 pic.twitter.com/QaShNkKoUi
Antetokounmpo tried to play through the back injury but ultimately had to leave the game early in the second quarter not to return.
The Bucks went on to lose Game 1 to the Heat, a team dealing with its own injury issues — Tyler Herro fractured his hand as well. Herro will be out for the rest of this series and likely the rest of the playoffs.
