Bucks coach Doc Rivers says he anticipates Giannis Antetokounmpo missing about 4 weeks

MILWAUKEE AP Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers says he anticipates Giannis Antetokounmpo missing about a month as the two-time MVP recovers from a strained right calf Initial reports indicated Antetokounmpo would be out two to four weeks Rivers suggested Friday that it would likely be on the higher end of that timeline Let s hope he s back sooner but I m going to guess it s more in the four-week range Rivers explained before the Bucks - loss to the Philadelphia ers Rivers emphasized the importance of caution with calf issues to avoid the danger of a participant getting hurt more severely And so that may take longer than we want Rivers commented That even may make Giannis frustrated over it But we ve just got to try to get that right Rivers explained Antetokounmpo won t excursion with the Bucks for their Saturday night battle at Detroit but will accompany the organization for preponderance of its away contests while he s out Our thing is especially because this just happened with the blood flow the flights and all that stuff keep him home Rivers disclosed The Bucks had another setback Friday when guard AJ Green who is shooting nearly from -point range bruised his left shoulder in the second quarter Rivers stated Green would be undergoing an MRI on Saturday in Detroit Antetokounmpo injured his calf in the opening minutes of a - home supremacy over Detroit on Wednesday He had just assisted on AJ Green s layup less than three minutes into the meeting when he headed back up the court and slipped in the painted area Antetokounmpo went down clutched his right leg and eventually was helped up before walking to the locker room Rivers reported after that encounter that he supposed Antetokounmpo s injury may have stemmed from contact he made with a Detroit sportsman while driving along the baseline just before passing to Green Antetokounmpo entered Friday ranked seventh in the NBA in scoring ninth in rebounding and th in assists The Bucks are - in games Antetokounmpo has missed this season They did rally from an -point deficit Wednesday against the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons with Antetokounmpo only playing the first three minutes Friday s encounter exemplified the Bucks issues in trying to win without Antetokounmpo Milwaukee committed first-half turnovers that led to Philadelphia points as the Bucks fell behind by as multiple as points in the second quarter You can see early on our guards were trying to force the action and that s easy to guard Rivers revealed after the meeting It really is That s a lesson Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr revealed he didn t feel as though he was pressing too much early he attempted only four shots in the first half but he acknowledged the responsibility everyone has to help pick up the slack while Antetokounmpo is out Me and Ryan Rollins we have selected shoes to fill while he s gone Porter stated We all have various shoes to fill Antetokounmpo s injury looked similar to a calf strain that ended Antetokounmpo s - season prematurely Antetokounmpo was heading up the court during an April preeminence over the Boston Celtics that season when he grabbed his left calf and took a seat on the floor before being helped off the court He went on to miss the Bucks final three regular-season games as well as their entire six-game loss to the Indiana Pacers in the opening round of the playoffs that season This latest calf injury comes after Antetokounmpo missed four games last month with a left adductor strain The Bucks lost all four of those games Rivers noted that Porter also didn t play in any of those games while recovering from a knee injury Porter returned Nov and is averaging points and assists this season Now we have Scoot Porter and Ryan together Rivers revealed It s a different group than it was even three weeks ago or four weeks ago This calf injury occurred the same day ESPN broadcasted that Antetokounmpo and his agent Alex Saratsis had started speaking with the Bucks about the nine-time all-NBA forward s future and whether he s best suited to stay in Milwaukee or play elsewhere Rivers disputed the review and disclosed that Giannis has never questioned to be traded ever I can t make that more clear AP NBA https apnews com hub NBA Source