Giannis Antetokounmpo Returns For Final Play-In Push
Giannis Antetokounmpo has only played 31 of a possible 60 games this year for the Milwaukee Bucks. They're out of the Play-In picture now, but Antetokounmpo is officially back for the stretch run. The two-time MVP will try to help push his team back up the standings in the final month of the season, beginning on Monday night.
Giannis Antetokounmpo finally returns in loss
For now, Giannis Antetokounmpo is on a minutes restriction as he works back from a calf strain. He had missed the previous five weeks but returned as the Milwaukee Bucks fell to the Boston Celtics. That was the longest absence of his entire NBA career.
"I'm just happy that I'm on the court," he said via ESPN. "It doesn't matter if I play 18 minutes, 20 minutes, 22, whatever, I'm just happy that I'm out there. Obviously did not play well tonight, but at the end of the day, I'm just happy that I'm out there being able to help my teammates in any way that I can and just do what I love, which is play basketball."
Antetokounmpo has often beat even the most optimistic return timelines in his career, but he couldn't do it this time. "I'm 31 years old," the Bucks forward said. "Just got to be smarter moving forward because things that I was able to do in the past, maybe I'm not able to do now."
Head coach Doc Rivers knows how important Antetokounmpo is, and he's not going to get him hurt again by pushing too hard. "I'm not going to overdo it," Rivers said before tipoff. "He hadn't played in a while, so just getting him back in and playing. It's not like we had a big practice or a shootaround this morning, so it's not the ideal way of bringing him back.
Antetokounmpo had 19 points, 11 rebounds, and two assists in 25 minutes. However, he shot just 7/18 from the field and was rusty in his first game back.
Bucks face uphill battle to make Play-In
Having Giannis Antetokounmpo back certainly makes the Milwaukee Bucks a dangerous team. But it might be too little, too late. The Bucks currently sit 3.5 games back of the 10th-seeded Charlotte Hornets, who are the best team in the NBA by net rating since January 1.
They're not going to fade out of the Play-In picture, but maybe the Atlanta Hawks will. Unfortunately, they have now won four in a row, tied for the longest win streak in the NBA with the Hornets. Neither team seems like a pushover right now.
The Miami Heat and Orlando Magic are the seventh and eighth seeds right now, and Milwaukee is 5.5 games back of each of them. No deficit here is insurmountable, but it's significant since the Bucks only have 22 games left.
Plus, even with Antetokounmpo back, the Bucks lost. When he plays, the Bucks are just 15-16, so it's not as if he's going to be able to magically turn them into a title contender. They will be better, but good enough to pass any of the four teams ahead of them? It's a tall task, at the very least.
The Bucks, per BPI, have a 2% chance of making the playoffs right now. The Hawks (40.8%), Hornets (57.8%), Magic (59.9%), and Heat (65.7%) all have substantially better chances. Per FanDuel, the betting odds are not good, either:
Odds to make playoffs:
- Hawks: +178
- Hornets: -144
- Heat: -310
- Magic: -270
The Bucks aren't even given odds on the initial site, which absolutely spells doom. No one's giving this team even the slightest chance to go on a run and make the Play-In. Just getting in would give them a shot since a healthy Antetokounmpo is as good as anyone in the sport, but they probably aren't going to get in.
Antetokounmpo has simply missed too much time, and the Bucks have not been very good, even when he's played, all season. They have the fourth-worst point differential in the East and the seventh-worst in the entire NBA.
Read More
