Shams tells us what the timetable is, and it prevent Giannis from taking the court at all during the first round
The Milwaukee Bucks had already insinuated the news that Giannis Antetokounmpo would be unavailable for Game One of the coming playoff series against the Indiana Pacers. Now, perhaps a little unsurprisingly, a report from Shams Charania makes his missing the entire first round a real possibility:
Latest on Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo’s status for first-round vs. Pacers being in jeopardy. Live on @Stadium Playoff Preview show: https://t.co/UtCsaeL3G1
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 18, 2024
(We’ll post better clips when we have them—thanks to our colleagues at the mothership for doing a quick summary in their article. You can jump to about the 35-minute mark to find Shams Charania’s specific update.)
Expounding slightly on his report from earlier in the week, Charania informs us that “I’m told this injury could be anywhere from two to four weeks, potentially.” He goes on:
He has been rehabbing daily… he has had some stationary workouts on the court… they have to have some level of caution in being careful with this calf injury. Already this season Giannis has had Achilles tendinitis, a hamstring injury as well, and now this calf strain about a week ago. The last thing [the Bucks and Giannis] would want is for him get back, rush on the floor with a calf injury not being at 100% and then potentially tweaking that or leading to even worse injuries.
As a refresher: Giannis suffered a strain to his left soleus (calf) in a game against the Boston Celtics on April 9th. He went down on a non-contact play—walking up the court—and needed help off the floor before eventually being able to limp a bit under his own power. While the severity/grade of his injury was never released, the first noises out of the organization were optimistic that he wouldn’t have to miss the full month-plus that a grade two soleus strain normally entails.
What is a little unclear is from what starting point the two to four-week period is being applied to. If it is from the date of the injury, it is worth noting that Game Two against the Pacers next Tuesday marks two weeks since the initial incident. If it is from today, the series will likely be all but over by the time he can return, even in the shortest possible timeline (editor’s note: Shams phrasing seems to suggest it is from the date of the injury, in my opinion).
In recent history, the closest comparison is the right calf strain Kevin Durant sustained in the 2019 Western Conference semifinals; he returned quickly for the Finals and promptly ruptured his Achilles tendon. Given how tightly bound the entire muscle group is in their collective functioning, trying to maintain explosiveness without further compromising the body if something is tweaked is asking for trouble. Thus, this extended timeline.
We’ll keep an eye out for more updates. For now, don’t get your hopes up that we’ll be seeing Antetokounmpo take the floor in the near future.