With five regular-season games left, there won’t be a postseason for the struggling Milwaukee Bucks, but that doesn’t mean the team’s star, Giannis Antetokounmpo, wants to sit out the remaining games.
The Bucks (30-47) host the Memphis Grizzlies (25-52) on Sunday afternoon.
Antetokounmpo, who has missed the past 10 games with a left knee injury, said Friday he was healthy enough to play but is being held out. According to multiple reports, the NBA is investigating the matter.
Antetokounmpo made his position clear before Friday’s home game with Boston, which the Celtics won 133-101. He spoke with reporters an hour before tipoff.
“You know who you are dealing with,” Antetokounmpo said. “So for somebody to come and tell me to not play or not to compete, it’s like a slap in my face. So, I don’t know where the relationship goes from there.”
Antetokounmpo has spent his 13-year NBA career with the Bucks.
The National Basketball Players Association issued a statement March 24 stating Antetokounmpo was healthy and should be on the court but was being held out as part of a tanking effort by Milwaukee. The Bucks were eliminated from playoff contention March 28 in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
Antetokounmpo hyperextended his left knee in the team’s March 15 win over the Indiana Pacers and has been listed as out on the injury report for the past 10 games with a bone bruise. He went through warmups Friday and said he was available but didn’t play.
“The tough part about this is that I’m in the middle and I have nothing to do with it,” said Bucks coach Doc Rivers. “Coaches don’t decide any of this. I don’t like when it’s this he-said, she-said stuff. It’s not good.”
Without Antetokounmpo, the Bucks have lost two straight and six of their last seven.
Memphis is in a more drastic tailspin. The Grizzlies have lost their last three — against Phoenix, New York and Toronto — by an average of 23. The Raptors beat the injury-decimated Grizzlies by 32 (128-96) on Friday.
Overall, Memphis has lost eight of nine and 16 of 18.
One of the few key rotation players available for Memphis, GG Jackson, scored a season-high 30 points against the Raptors and rookie Cedric Coward, another starter, had 15 points.
The Grizzlies played with a roster that included four 10-day contract players — including two signed Thursday — and three two-way players. With so many new players, Memphis has struggled to find any kind of rhythm on the court as the season winds down.
“I thought the effort level was great, but It takes more than one shootaround,” said Memphis coach Tuomas Iisalo of the difficulty of melding newcomers quickly into the rotation.
Watching Jackson develop into what could become an integral part of next season has been encouraging. An athletic, 6-foot-9 power forward, he played point guard late in the game.
“He’s improved so much as a finisher just getting to the rim and bullying guys and still finishing with a high level of accuracy,” Iisalo said. “That’s a rare combination.”
