Milwaukee Bucks will be without Pat Connaughton, who Broke Hand

The Milwaukee Bucks announced late Thursday night that guard Pat Connaughton suffered a right 4th metacarpal fracture. The injury occurred in the second half of a blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns.

The Milwaukee Bucks will be without Pat Connaughton for the time being.

This is an absolutely brutal loss for the Bucks, who are already having a tough time producing offense off the bench. In 53 games, Connaughton has averaged 10.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, shooting a blazing 41.3 percent from 3 on 5.7 attempts per game.

It is currently unknown what the timeframe to return is. After the game, coach Mike Budenholzer had this to say:

"“We’re trying to figure out who will see him next, what the next step is. Unfortunate, but I think we’re hopeful that he’ll be able to return…when that is, not exactly sure. But we’ll see.”"

Metacarpal fractures can range in severity depending on the finger the fracture occurs on, and sometimes surgery is necessary. Jeff Stotts is an injury analyst and a certified athletic trainer who specializes in analyzing NBA injuries.

"According to a 2015 article by Stotts, “Five metacarpal bones form the bulk of the hand and link the tiny carpal bones of the wrist and the long bones of the fingers…the fourth and the fifth metacarpals, located beneath the ring and pinkie fingers respectively, are more mobile in order to allow motion at the wrist and pinkie. The mobility here often necessitates additional healing time.”"

While the Milwaukee Bucks have stated no timetable to return, we can use other players who have had the same injury as a reference point. Stotts says that the average number of games missed for someone with a 4th metacarpal fracture is 17 games. However, some players suffer additional setbacks after they reinjure the hand.

Using the 17 game average puts Connaughton at March 29th with eight games left to play in the regular season. Of course, every injury is different and can take much less or much more time to heal. Considering that the injury occurred on Connaughton’s shooting hand, it is better for the Bucks to err on the side of caution.

The loss of Connaughton will force the Bucks to give their depth players more minutes. Jordan Nwora will most likely be tasked with bringing a scoring spark off the bench. Lindell Wiggington may even be asked to play significant minutes off the bench. It is now imperative that the Bucks be active in the buyout market and find a quality guard that can help soak up minutes. The Milwaukee bench cannot afford to take any more steps back.