A season-defining shock for the Bucks: how bad is Giannis’ injury?

As Match Point once put it – that wonderful Woody Allen film now nearing its 20th anniversary – humans struggle to accept that so much of life comes down entirely to luck. Perhaps it’s because admitting that would force them to acknowledge how many things are simply out of their control. One way or another, that is exactly where Giannis Antetokounmpo finds himself, hurt just hours after word leaked that his camp and the Bucks were working on a potential exit and the search for a new adventure. He went down against the Pistons at Fiserv Forum barely three minutes into the game. The first whispers suggested an Achilles issue, but some reporting and Doc Rivers’ postgame comments ruled out anything that severe, even as tests are still being run to determine the extent.

The scene was bleak. Antetokounmpo’s problem came right at the start, in a game where the Bucks looked like they have all season: down 2–10 early, with the Greek star (who had scored the team’s only two points from the line) assisting AJ Green for an easy basket. Up to that point, everything was normal. But after stepping back in-bounds following that pass and heading toward the defensive end, he suddenly stopped and dropped to the floor in obvious pain. With major damage apparently avoided, the signs point to a calf tear in his right leg. But with his 31st birthday just 48 hours away, the big question lingers: does this derail his trade? The answer will depend on the coming days, the diagnosis and his recovery timeline.

To make matters worse – and because these things often play out this way – the Bucks rallied and won without him, despite trailing by as many as 18. In the fourth quarter, a 35–24 surge sealed the victory for the home side, who managed it against the mighty Pistons, that revived powerhouse running the Eastern Conference with an iron fist. Their 17–5 record took a small dent with the loss in Milwaukee. It was a statement win without their main star, filled with uncertainty and earned against a team no one wants to see right now. A mix that leaves the home crowd pleased, but only partially. After all, the future of the franchise is tied to something else entirely. For whatever reason.

With the franchise player out, Kevin Porter led Milwaukee with 26 points and seven assists, while Ryan Rollins added 22 and Green had 19. Off the bench, Bobby Portis delivered 13 points, nine rebounds and five assists, and Jericho Sims was the surprise of the night with 15 points – going a perfect 7-for-7 from the field and 1-for-1 at the line – plus 14 rebounds. Detroit, flat and overly confident, shot just 40 percent overall and barely topped 32 percent from deep, which made Cade Cunningham’s 17 points feel light. Not that it mattered much: everyone’s attention is on Antetokounmpo, one of the best players of the past decade in the NBA and one of the most influential Europeans the sport has ever seen. Now it’s a matter of waiting to see what happens with his health. And with his future, of course. The million-dollar question.

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Milwaukee Bucks

Stats

34 Giannis Antetokounmpo
43 Thanasis Antetokounmpo
50 Cole Anthony
17 Amir Coffey
20 AJ Green
11 Gary Harris
44 Andre Jackson Jr.
18 Kyle Kuzma
35 Pete Nance
7 Kevin Porter Jr.
9 Bobby Portis
13 Ryan Rollins
0 Jericho Sims
5 Gary Trent Jr.
3 Myles Turner
29 Alex Antetokounmpo
19 Mark Sears

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
34 Giannis Antetokounmpo	3	2	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	2/2	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
43 Thanasis Antetokounmpo	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
50 Cole Anthony	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
17 Amir Coffey	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
20 AJ Green	39	19	2	0	2	0	0	1	2	2/2	1/1	5/11	0	2	0
11 Gary Harris	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
44 Andre Jackson Jr.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
18 Kyle Kuzma	21	4	4	2	2	3	3	1	2	0/0	2/4	0/3	0	2	0
35 Pete Nance	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
7 Kevin Porter Jr.	35	26	2	0	2	7	7	2	0	7/7	5/10	3/8	0	4	0
9 Bobby Portis	30	13	9	2	7	5	0	0	0	1/2	3/5	2/8	0	1	0
13 Ryan Rollins	38	22	4	0	4	8	3	2	0	3/3	8/10	1/6	0	4	0
0 Jericho Sims	30	15	14	4	10	1	1	0	0	1/1	7/7	0/0	0	3	0
5 Gary Trent Jr.	22	3	1	0	1	2	1	0	0	0/0	0/0	1/4	0	0	0
3 Myles Turner	19	9	3	0	3	1	0	0	2	4/4	1/1	1/4	0	4	0
29 Alex Antetokounmpo	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
19 Mark Sears	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0

Detroit Pistons

Stats

2 Cade Cunningham
0 Jalen Duren
31 Javonte Green
12 Tobias Harris
5 Ron Holland II
23 Jaden Ivey
24 Daniss Jenkins
20 Chaz Lanier
8 Caris LeVert
7 Paul Reed
28 Isaiah Stewart
9 Ausar Thompson
13 Isaac Jones
14 Wendell Moore Jr.
35 Tolu Smith

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
2 Cade Cunningham	35	17	7	1	6	7	2	1	0	6/6	4/8	1/7	0	1	0
0 Jalen Duren	25	8	6	5	1	3	1	1	0	0/1	4/7	0/0	0	6	0
31 Javonte Green	15	9	1	0	1	2	1	2	0	1/1	1/2	2/4	0	1	0
12 Tobias Harris	29	20	5	1	4	0	0	0	0	1/2	2/6	5/8	0	0	0
5 Ron Holland II	17	5	2	0	2	0	1	1	0	1/1	2/7	0/3	0	1	0
23 Jaden Ivey	18	15	6	2	4	1	2	0	1	3/3	3/5	2/5	0	1	0
24 Daniss Jenkins	24	7	1	0	1	2	2	0	0	2/2	1/3	1/5	0	0	0
20 Chaz Lanier	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
8 Caris LeVert	23	4	2	0	2	4	1	0	1	1/2	0/2	1/8	0	3	0
7 Paul Reed	7	9	4	1	3	1	2	0	1	0/0	3/3	1/2	0	0	0
28 Isaiah Stewart	17	5	4	2	2	0	0	1	2	0/0	1/2	1/1	0	2	0
9 Ausar Thompson	25	10	6	1	5	5	2	2	0	4/6	3/7	0/0	0	3	0
13 Isaac Jones	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
14 Wendell Moore Jr.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
35 Tolu Smith	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0