Brook Lopez missed just one game for the Milwaukee Bucks this season and that worries head coach Doc Rivers.
The Splash Mountain plays the fourth most minutes this season, trailing Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and new Buck Kyle Kuzma.
However, compared to those three above him, Lopez hardly get any rest.
Kuzma missed games due to injuries when he was still with the Washington Wizards. Both Lillard and Antetokounmpo were in and out of the line-up since the start of the season to manager their injuries.
Lopez’s body gets more spent, too, because of the absences of big men Antetokounmpo and now, Bobby Portis who was suspended for 25 games for anti-drug policy violation.
Rivers commended Lopez for always being there for the team but he is being careful.
“He’s like a clock and religious about his routine,” Rivers said of Lopez after their win over the Heat.
“He takes this job serious. He’s a model of consistency.
“I worry a lot because he’s 37 and he had one stretch with Bobby out the last time where he logged a lot of minutes and you could see that it affected him. This time we’re not going to make the same mistake.”
Milwaukee Bucks players want to be there in the playoff
Injuries are what befell the Milwaukee Bucks in the last three playoffs.
In 2022, Khris Middleton was not there in the second round against the Boston Celtics and the Bucks lost Game 7 despite the historic records set by Antetokounmpo.
The next season, it was the Greek Freak who failed to show up due to calf injury. The team exited the season in the first round after losing to an 8th seed Miami Heat.
The 2024 playoffs was the same story. Antetokounmpo did not play even one game in the first round series against the Indiana Pacers. Lillard played the first four games but he was not there in the last two, leaving the team heavily crippled.
Antetokounmpo, who is in minutes restriction after getting a 15-day recovery period, thinks a lot about the playoffs saying he needs to be smart about his minutes given his history.
I would guess so.
Here is what Giannis Antetokounmpo said on Friday night when I asked him about his minutes restriction in the first two games after the All-Star break: https://t.co/yLI9ggfPtO pic.twitter.com/9hwFnamNLo
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) February 23, 2025
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