Giannis Antetokounmpo left the Bucks’ Game 4 loss to the Hawks last night with a nasty-looking knee injury.
How bad is it?
Farbod Esnaashari of Bleacher Report:
Sources: People within the Milwaukee Bucks organization fear that Giannis Antetokounmpo has suffered a severe ACL injury. However, no MRI has been done yet.
— Farbod Esnaashari (@Farbod_E) June 30, 2021
That’d be devastating.
To Antetokounmpo. To Milwaukee. To anyone who wants to see a well-played NBA playoffs.
The Buck have a great opportunity to win a championship.
And they could still win without to Antetokounmpo. Which speaks to how shorthanded all the remaining teams are, because Antetokounmpo is obviously an excellent player.
Atlanta guard Trae Young also missed Game 4, though Atlanta pounded Milwaukee even before Antetokounmpo went down. Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard remains out and there’s no expectation he’ll return this season. Suns guard Chris Paul hasn’t looked like himself since returning from coronavirus.
Really, with Paul merely rusty rather than out and holding a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference finals, Phoenix has become an even-stronger title favorite.
And then there are the already-eliminated All-Stars who missed games in the playoffs:
That doesn’t even count Young (no, he wasn’t an All-Star) or Nuggets guard Jamal Murray.
Hopefully, Antetokounmpo’s injury isn’t as severe as feared. But there are only a few days left in the Eastern Conference finals and a few weeks left in the playoffs. Even a moderate injury could sideline Antetokounmpo the rest of the postseason.