Why isn’t Giannis Antetokounmpo playing against the Celtics tonight, Mar 20th?

The Milwaukee Bucks have a date with the top team in the league from Boston tonight as the two best teams in the East square off from TD Garden. It’s a crucial game for playoff positioning less than a month away from the end of the season, but the Bucks are going to be without one of the league’s best players.

Giannis out for second straight game

Giannis Antetokounmpo missed Milwaukee’s last game against the Phoenix Suns, and he is set to miss a second straight game tonight due to a hamstring injury. The Greek has stayed healthy for most of the year missing just four games this season, but this will be the first time he misses back to back games.

The Bucks managed to beat the Suns over the weekend, thanks to matching 31 points from Bobby Portis and Damian Lillard and tonight they are going to need big performances from not just Lilllard and Portis, but everyone.

There has been no timetable given for Giannis’ return, but the Bucks will be hoping their two time MVP will be back on the court sooner rather than later. This is a pivotal moment in the season for Milwaukee who are fighting for the second seed in the East, and will need all hands on deck from here until the playoffs.

Milwaukee is trailing the first placed Celtics by 10 games coming into the night, and while they have probably given up the chase for home court throughout, they will be determined to keep hold of the second seed. They are currently a game above the Cleveland Cavaliers and 2.5 games above the New York Knicks who are in 4th in the East.

Luckily for the Bucks, Giannis is the only one listed on the injury report while the Celtics have Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday and Sam Hauser listed as questionable tonight. Brown has a right ankle sprain, Holiday is nursing a shoulder injury and Hauser has an injured ankle.