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:
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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:
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Nets guard Kyrie Irving
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Nets guard James Harden
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Jazz guard Mike Conley
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Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell
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76ers center Joel Embiid
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Lakers big Anthony Davis
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Celtics wing Jaylen Brown
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.
More on the Bucks
Antetokounmpo knee injury cloud over Hawks’ impressive win to even… Giannis Antetokounmpo leaves game after gruesome hyperextension of left knee Hawks’ Trae Young out for Game 4 with bone bruise on foot
Report: Bucks fear Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered severe ACL injury originally appeared on NBCSports.com