Giannis Antetokounmpo Injury: Damian Lillard explains teammate’s soleus strain problem during win over Celtics

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks have finally recovered from their slump after snapping a 4-game losing streak. Ahead of the post-season, the win against the Eastern Conference toppers, the Celtics, will provide a much-needed boost to the Milwaukee team.

But they paid a heavy price for it. The price came in the shape of Giannis Antetokounmpo, and now it has attracted dark clouds of concern over the “Cream City”. The concern was addressed at the end of the game, but this is a situation worth keeping an eye on.

Details on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s injury

The Bucks faced a severe blow in the game, facing the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. In the final few minutes of the third quarter, their star forward, Giannis Antetokounmpo suddenly fell on the court without any contact, holding his calf muscle.

The “Greek Freak” was soon surrounded by trainers and fellow teammates. As soon as he gained some strength, his brother Thanasis Antetokounmpo along with teammate Brook Lopez helped him to get off the court. Following some assessments in the locker room, the franchise stated that the forward would not return to the game.

According to the sports injury analyst Dr. Evan Jeffries, Giannis’ return will depend on the intensity of his injury which might vary from a week to missing the playoffs.

After the game Bucks’ HC Doc Rivers informed that the 8-time All-Star had strained his left soleus while running and would undergo some tests to fix his injury. Despite securing the 104-91 win over the table toppers, Giannis’ teammate and partner Damian Lillard, showed deep concern regarding the incident.

Damian Lillard weighs in on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s injury

During their time together in the Milwaukee franchise, Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo formed a great bond which helped boost the team to a greater extent after being under scrutiny in the former half of the season. The absence of one of them affects the other and Dame is well aware of it.

Giannis’ incident stunned the guard, who opened up about his concern in a post-game interview. “Anytime you see one of your teammates go down, it’s a real level of concern,” said Lillard. Describing the “Oh s— moment”, Damian added, “I got scared. I knew we were going to call timeout, so I just dribbled up to half court, and when he stood up, I could tell he wanted to try to put weight on it.” The 33-year-old concluded by saying that he wants his mate to recover quickly.

It is worth noting, that Giannis has suffered minor injuries throughout the season but the immediate reaction of his teammates and HC indicated, that this one might be a bit more serious.

The Bucks did secure the win with Giannis’15 points, Patrick Beverley’s 20, and Lillards’ 12. However, looking at their four losses in a row, Lillard’s concern over the Greek-Nigerian’s absence seems just. The franchise will have three more games in the regular campaign following which they will appear in the playoffs and with Antetokounmpo’s uncertain return date their title-clinching dream is now under severe threat.