5-5! That is the win record the Milwaukee Bucks secured after facing the Atlanta Hawks in their last 10 matchups. While the Atlanta Hawks occupy a much lower seed on the Eastern Conference points table, the win record means that the Bucks squad cannot take chances. Especially since they will be facing the Hawks on the latter’s home turf, aka the State Farm Arena. Therefore, having both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kyle Kuzma in the starting five is a must. Unfortunately, any Bucks fans expecting to see both players will have to deal with mixed news.
According to the Milwaukee Bucks Injury Report highlighted by ESPN, Giannis Antetokounmpo is listed as ‘probable’ for the upcoming game. This all but guarantees his availability for the upcoming game. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Kyle Kuzma, who is listed as ‘Doubtful’ after he tweaked his ankle during the Bucks’ recent win against the Dallas Mavericks. Meanwhile, Pat Connaughton will be ‘OUT’ for a 5th consecutive game as he recovers from his calf injury.
Kyle Kuzma sustained the injury after landing on a foot early in the first quarter of the Bucks-Mavs game. Even though he was visibly limping, the player stayed in the game until a stoppage allowed him to run to the locker room to get some extra support on his foot. According to ‘The Athletic’s Eric Nehm, Bucks coach Doc Rivers informed reporters that the MRI on Kyle Kuzma’s right ankle came back clean. Despite this, the player reportedly did not do a lot in a recent practice session.
When speaking out about his injury, Kuzma stated, “Obviously, it doesn’t look too good (with bruising/swelling), but I just stepped on Giannis’ foot, I should be fine. Yesterday was a little rough, but today, I moved around, shot…I didn’t do anything full speed or try to cut, but all my testing with it was positive.” RotoWire reported that the Bucks are “simply being cautious” in giving Kuzma some rest.
As for Giannis Antetokounmpo, the player’s trouble with his left calf strain has existed for quite a while now. He had missed 6 straight games due to the strain. On top of that, he missed his appearance at the NBA All-Star Game. Fortunately, the player has appeared in the Bucks’ last 6 games. In fact, he played above 30 minutes in the 4 most recent matchups. Therefore, one does not need to worry too much about ‘The Greek Freak’. For now.
As for the Atlanta Hawks, they are in a much worse condition than their upcoming rivals. After all, they have not 1, not 2, but 6 players listed on the Injury Report. 5 of them are ‘OUT’ for the upcoming game. Kobe Bufkin and Jalen Johnson had been declared ‘OUT’ for the remainder of the season quite a while ago. Both Vit Krejci and Larry Nance Jr. are yet to be re-evaluated to check their recovery progress from their respective back and right knee ailments. Georges Niang continues to be ‘OUT’ due to his illness. Meanwhile, Daeqwon Plowden is listed as ‘Day-To-Day’ due to his right elbow strain.
In light of these updates, both teams will have to make adjustments to their starting lineups.
What will the starting lineup and depth chart for the Bucks-Hawks game look like?
The starting lineup for the Milwaukee Bucks would look something like this:
| POSITION | STARTER | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | 5TH |
| PG | Damian Lillard | Kevin Porter Jr. | Ryan Rollins | AJ Green | Andre Jackson Jr. |
| SG | Taurean Prince | AJ Green | Gary Trent Jr. | Andre Jackson Jr. | Kevin Porter Jr. |
| SF | Kyle Kuzma (Doubtful) | Gary Trent Jr. | Andre Jackson Jr. | Taurean Prince | Pat Connaughton (OUT) |
| PF | Giannis Antetokounmpo (Probable) | Kyle Kuzma (Doubtful) | Taurean Prince | Pat Connaughton (OUT) | Tyler Smith |
| C | Brook Lopez | Jericho Sims | Giannis Antetokounmpo (Probable) | Pete Nance (OUT) | Chris Livingston |
Similarly, given the updates for the Atlanta Hawks, their starting lineup will look like this:
| POSITION | STARTER | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | 5TH |
| PG | Trae Young | Dyson Daniels | Terance Mann | Keaton Wallace | Caris LeVert |
| SG | Dyson Daniels | Caris LeVert | Garrison Matthews | Terance Mann | Zaccharie Risacher |
| SF | Zaccharie Risacher | Terance Mann | Caris LeVert | Georges Niang (OUT) | Garrison Matthews |
| PF | Mouhamed Gueye | Georges Niang (OUT) | Zaccharie Risacher | Dominick Barlow | Onyeka Okongwu |
| C | Onyeka Okongwu | Clint Capela | Dominick Barlow | Mouhamed Gueye | Larry Nance Jr. |
The Milwaukee Bucks or the Atlanta Hawks? Who will you be rooting for during the upcoming matchup? Let us know in the comments down below.
The post Bucks Announce Major Update On Giannis Antetokounmpo & Kyle Kuzma Before Crucial Clash vs Hawks appeared first on EssentiallySports.
