Milwaukee Bucks give promising injury update ahead of NBA playoffs

It appears the Milwaukee Bucks finally have some good news to share on the injury front that has been plaguing them all season long.

Before the season even began, the Bucks were focused on the long-term health of their team. They were coming off a postseason appearance in which a knee injury to Khris Middleton prematurely ended their title defense in the semi-finals.

The Bucks began training camp expecting Middleton, Pat Connaughton and Joe Ingles to be out for at least the season’s first month. They were okay bringing them along slowly at that point, as they were more worried about wins in April, May and June instead of October and November.

Milwaukee Bucks’ head coach Mike Budenholzer delivered a promising injury report to the media ahead of the first round of the NBA playoffs.

However, the Bucks could never fully get their entire squad healthy as the season progressed. Yes, Connaughton and Ingles came back to action. But, Middleton returned twice and suffered a setback or new injury each time. The latest event came last week when he re-aggravated his right knee–the opposite one he injured the previous postseason.

Connaughton also sprained his ankle towards the end of the season and had his status up in the air. Fellow wing Grayson Allen is in the same boat due to a similar ankle sprain.

Furthermore, Giannis Antetokounmpo was pulled out of last Wednesday’s game against the Chicago Bulls due to knee soreness. He was going through his pre-game warm-ups when the decision was made, and he cut his workout short. That was with the Bucks still needing to win one game to capture homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.

For those keeping count at home, that left questions about Antetokounmpo, Middleton, Connaughton and Allen–four key members of the Bucks’ projected playoff rotation.

Following the reported clean MRI of Middleton, Bucks’ head coach Mike Budenholzer delivered more good news on Tuesday.

Speaking with the media (and updates courtesy of The Athletic’ Eric Nehm), Budenholzer shared Antetokounmpo was a full participant at practice on Tuesday. He’s first and foremost the Bucks’ most significant concern regarding the injured players. They can hobble along without anyone else, but he must be at full strength if they are to achieve their primary goal of winning another championship.

Middleton was limited at practice today, but is expected to be a full participant on Thursday if he continues progressing as planned. Milwaukee prematurely exited in the semi-finals last year against the Boston Celtics due, in part, to Middleton’s absence. Hopefully, he can use the first round to get up to full speed.

The reports about Connaughton and Allen weren’t as optimistic, however, it sounds like they are still on track to return sooner rather than later. Each player was limited in practice, and we’ll see how they progress as the week goes on.

That’s excellent news for the Bucks, whose greatest threat to a deep postseason run could be the health they’ve been battling all season.