Bucks: Coach Bud Hopeful Eric Bledsoe is Available for 1st Game

It was reported that Eric Bledsoe has tested positive for COVID-19, but Mike Budenholzer is hopeful that he will rejoin the Milwaukee Bucks for their first game.

Before the Milwaukee Bucks packed up to head to “the bubble” in Orlando, Florida,  they chose to shut down the practice facility after someone within the organization had tested positive for the coronavirus.

It was unknown at the time who or how many members of the organization had tested positive, but we have recently learned from Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports that Eric Bledsoe has tested positive for COVID-19 and did not travel with the team to Orlando. The good news is that Bledsoe is asymptomatic, and D.J. Wilson told reporters that he is in “good spirits.”

Prior to the suspension of the 2019-2020 NBA season, Bledsoe was averaging 15.4 points per game this season on 48.2 percent shooting with 4.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. On top of that, he is also one of the best defenders in the game, and any time that he may miss is going to leave a hole on this Milwaukee Bucks team on both ends of the court.

However, some more good news is that Coach Mike Budenholzer says he believes Bledsoe will be available for Milwaukee’s first game against Boston. Although he did add that with this virus, you can never be too sure.

Considering that the Bucks have a 6.5 game lead over the Toronto Raptors for the top-seed in the Eastern Conference, if Bledsoe does happen to miss some time, it isn’t going to affect Milwaukee’s playoff seeding. At this point, locking up the one-seed is essentially a given.

With that said, the Bucks – along with every other team – are coming off a four-month layoff, and there undoubtedly will be some rust to shake off and some chemistry to rebuild. These eight games leading into the playoffs will provide them with a great opportunity to regain their form, and tinker with potential playoff rotations, along with anything else that Coach Bud deems necessary, while not having to fight for playoff seeding.

So, of course, having Bledsoe back for all or as many of these games as possible in order to get into playoff mode is certainly ideal. Especially for someone whose offensive performance has dipped during playoff time the last two seasons.

During the 2017-2018 playoffs, Bledsoe shot just 41.1 percent from the field, 23.6 percent from 3, 70 percent from the line, and averaged 13.7 points per game. Then in last year’s postseason, in those same categories, Bledsoe shot 44 percent overall, 31.8 percent from deep, and 70 percent from the line with 13.6 points per game.

In both cases, his playoff averages were significantly lower than what he had posted over the course of each regular season.

While Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to lead the way, the Milwaukee Bucks will need a sharp Eric Bledsoe if they are going to bring home the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Without Bledsoe or if he struggles again, then that goal becomes much more difficult to achieve.

But first things first, let’s hope Eric has a quick and full recovery that allows him to rejoin the Bucks in Orlando.

All stats courtesy of Basketball Reference