Six points in 11 minutes. This is the balance of Giannis Antetokounmpo in the first set against the Heat, and if the Greek played little, it was simply because he injured his back. At the start, a muscular “drive” as he is used to, but he comes up against Kevin Love, the force passage specialist, and the strong winger from Milwaukee falls heavily on his back. There are then less than two minutes to play in the first quarter.
Four minutes later, Giannis came back into play, but he was unable to run properly, nor to shoot, and a minute later, he was called back to the bench, and he even went straight to the locker room. We won’t see him again. “He wasn’t moving well. He didn’t look comfortable or confident. I felt that was the best thing to do.” commented Mike Budenholzer.
Giannis ‘heals quickly’
After the conceded setback against the Heat, the medical staff revealed that past x-rays had not revealed any lesions. It would therefore be a simple shock to the lower back. “We will watch him and see how he feels when he wakes up continues the Bucks coach. “We will see what the doctors say. The most important thing is what Giannis will say about it. We’re lucky he’s incredibly resilient, and he heals quickly. But we’ll take it day by day, and see how he feels. »
Unfortunately, the Greek is a regular in the infirmary this season since his knee and wrist have already forced him to miss several matches. We also remember that last February, already against the Heat, he injured his thigh in the first quarter.
If Giannis were to miss an already decisive Game 2 for the Bucks, Jrue Holiday believes that the workforce is rich enough to compensate. “Obviously we don’t want him to get injured, but we have to keep that mentality of the next player in mind. We have enough talent in the team to compensate until he comes back.
Recall that the Heat will be greatly reduced for the rest of the series since Tyler Herro will miss four to six weeks of competition, due to a double finger fracture.
