According to Milwaukee Bucks superstar Damian Lillard, he knew that Giannis Antetokounmpo was “winded” a handful of times against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night. The former back-to-back MVP returned from a one-game absence due to a shoulder injury, and for the most part, he looked great. Antetokounmpo even came close to another triple-double, finishing with 31 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists in Milwaukee’s 141-235 victory.
Giannis himself admitted after the game that his shoulder problem led to his lack of rhythm against Detroit.
Milwaukee Bucks Star Giannis Antetokounmpo Still Nursing Shoulder Injury
Despite the fact that Giannis missed just one game because of the injury, it’s actually been nearly a week since he saw some action. The last time he was on the court was on Sunday against the Sacramento Kings.
“Obviously six days, I wasn’t able to – because we played the other day, had a day off in between – wasn’t able to get my five versus five, any contact play,” Antetokounmpo said, via Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “So if you don’t have that kind of practice day, it’s hard to find your rhythm.”
It’s a good thing Giannis is as great as he is. He still managed to go off against Detroit despite looking a bit rusty in certain stretches of the game.
“I’m just trying to be aggressive, get back rhythm,” Antetokounmpo acknowledged. “Yeah, there’s going to be sometimes I’m able, able to find a lane and go downhill and get in for a layup or for a dunk or find my teammate, but at the end of the day I feel like when I’m at he best, when the team is at their best, is when I’m aggressive and getting downhill, when I’m making plays, when I’m being aggressive. But yeah, I think in the second half I was a little bit more; kind of got used to the speed of the game. Because it doesn’t matter if you don’t play, if you’re not out there, it goes away immediately. So you gotta get it back.”
It’s not great news that Giannis has still been listed on the injury report ahead of their rematch against the Pistons on Wednesday. He is considered probable to play, but the fact of the matter is that the shoulder appears to still be bothering him to a certain extent.
Bucks fans are just hoping he gets more of a rhythm on Wednesday against the 4-38 Pistons.
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