The Milwaukee Bucks are facing the possibility of being without their star player and two-time MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo, at the start of the postseason due to a left calf strain. Antetokounmpo suffered the injury in a game against the Boston Celtics and had to sit out the Bucks’ final three regular-season games. The team is hopeful that continued treatment will allow him to return later in the first-round series against the Indiana Pacers.
As a result of Antetokounmpo’s injury, the Bucks have seen their odds of defeating the Pacers in the opening round of the playoffs decrease. The team went from the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference to the third seed during his absence. Despite this setback, Antetokounmpo had an impressive season, averaging 30.4 points per game on a career-best 61% shooting from the field along with 11.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game.
The Bucks’ struggles extended beyond Antetokounmpo’s injury, as they went 3-8 in their final 11 games of the regular season, including losses to teams like the Washington Wizards, Memphis Grizzlies, and Toronto Raptors. Since Doc Rivers became their head coach, the Bucks have gone 17-19. The team will now face the sixth-seeded Pacers in the first round of the playoffs, a team that won four out of the five matchups between the two teams this season.
Despite the challenges they are facing, the Bucks remain hopeful that Antetokounmpo will be able to return at some point during the first-round series against the Pacers. The team’s odds of winning the series have shifted, with the shortest odds for the exact outcome being a Bucks 4-3 victory. However, the Pacers winning 4-2 now has the second-shortest odds, indicating that there is a possibility of an upset in the opening round of the postseason.
