Giannis Antetokounmpo enters the NBA health and safety protocols; Here’s what we know so far
The Milwaukee Bucks will be without two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, entering COVID-19 health and safety protocols. COVID has ravaged the NBA as multiple players have headed into health and safety protocols, forcing some games to be canceled.
Shams Charania tweeted out just moments ago that Giannis Antetokounmpo will be the new name to be sitting out some time due to COVID-19.
Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo has entered health and safety protcols and is out vs. Indiana on Wednesday.
Giannis Antetokounmpo will need to be out for at least 10-days before he can rejoin the Bucks or have two negative COVID-19 tests. He will certainly be out for the Bucks game against the Indiana Pacers on December 15th.
During the next 10-days, the Bucks face the Pacers, New Orleans Pelicans, Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, and Dallas Mavericks. Antetokounmpo might be out for a good amount of time in the season, as the Bucks will have five days off within the next 10-days, which might not affect the Bucks' overall record that much.
The Bucks will, of course, miss Giannis Antetokounmpo, as they sit in third place in the Eastern Conference with an 18-11 record. The rest of the Bucks will be tested to see how many more players could have contracted COVID.
Does this affect Giannis Antetokounmpo's MVP possibilities?
Giannis Antetokounmpo is having one of the best seasons of his career, which is crazy to say for an already two-time MVP and Finals MVP. Antetokounmpo averaged 27 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 5.8 assists this season.
Updated MVP Tracker, via @bball_ref:
1.) Giannis Antetokounmpo
2.) Steph Curry
3.) Nikola Jokic
4.) Kevin Durant
5.) Chris Paul
6.) Rudy Gobert
7.) James Harden
8.) Jarrett Allen
9.) Donovan Mitchell
10.) DeMar DeRozan
On top of that, Antetokounmpo has been a defensive anchor for the Bucks, having a defensive rating of 101, which is five points higher than his Defensive Player of the year season. He is averaging 1.1 steals and 1.6 blocks per game.
With how quickly COVID-19 has entered the NBA, likely, this time out might not impact Antetokounmpo stats or MVP hopes all too much. Recently, many teams have been hit hard by COVID, which means more and more players will have to sit out some games.
If Antetokounmpo can get back within the 10 days, he will only miss five games. That is not too many compared to how many games an NBA team will usually play ovrr a 10 day span.
Giannis Antetokounmpo missing this amount of time should have minimal effect on his MVP hopes. When Antetokounmpo comes back, he will likely continue to be his usual dominant self, as he has been over the last five years.