3 players who need to step up for Milwaukee Bucks following Giannis Antetokounmpo's injury | 2021 NBA Playoffs
The Milwaukee Bucks are bracing themselves for future NBA Playoff games, potentially without Giannis Antetokounmpo, who suffered a hyperextended left knee on Tuesday.
Should the two-time MVP miss one or more games, the rest of the Bucks will have to step up in his absence. The immediate concern is Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Atlanta Hawks. But the way Antetokounmpo suffered the injury looked like it’s the type that will put him out of commission for a few weeks.
The incident occurred in the third quarter of Game 4 on Tuesday with the Greek Freak trying to contest an alley-oop to the Atlanta Hawks’ Clint Capela. As the combatants were on their way down, their legs got tangled up and Antetokounmpo’s knee bent awkwardly, causing him to scream in pain.
The Milwaukee Bucks never recovered from the loss of their superstar and proceeded to get blown out by the Hawks.
What’s next for the Milwaukee Bucks without Giannis Antetokounmpo?
Based on how the first four games of the conference finals have gone so far, the Milwaukee Bucks are going to have an uphill battle without Giannis Antetokounmpo to anchor their offense and defense. In the first three games of the series, he was averaging 30.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks a game while shooting 59.4 percent from the field.
It’s going to take the combined might of several Bucks players to make up for that kind of production. Though it’s going to be a total team effort to approximate Antetokounmpo's nightly numbers, there are three players who absolutely must step up for the Milwaukee Bucks to win the 2021 Eastern Conference title.
#3 Bobby Portis
From among the players on the Milwaukee Bucks’ reserves, Bobby Portis is the one they rely on to provide instant offense for them. He was the Bucks’ leading scorer off the bench during the regular season at 11.4 points a game and averaged the second-most rebounds on the team at 7.1.
With Giannis Antetokounmpo’s likely absence for Game 5 and maybe beyond, Portis will have to take up some of the scoring and rebounding load that will be left behind.
The 26-year-old once scored 38 points against the Sixers back when he was still a member of the Bulls, and he will have to channel that type of mentality again for the duration of the series.