Milwaukee Bucks star 'rusty' but happy to play after nearly six weeks
· Yahoo Sports
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s return to the basketball court for the first time in nearly six weeks unfortunately brought only a momentary roar back to Fiserv Forum on March 2.
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In the opening minutes of the game against the Boston Celtics, Antetokounmpo’s first since re-injuring his right calf Jan. 23, the Milwaukee Bucks scored the game’s first three baskets. The rest of the night was Boston’s, as the Bucks would score only 74 more points over the final 46 minutes of the game in a 108-81 loss.
So, it was difficult for Antetokounmpo or the team to really celebrate his return, even if they’ve long been looking forward to it.
“It’s good to see big fella out there,” Bucks forward Bobby Portis Jr. said in a quiet locker room after the game. “Probably was a little rusty, haven’t played in a minute. Good to see him back on the floor doing what he love to do. It’s always hard with injuries, being away from the game and not being able to do what you love to do, which is hoop. So good to see him back on the floor, win or lose.”
Antetokounmpo was similarly subdued, even if the throughline in his postgame messaging was how happy he was just to be playing. He logged just under 26 minutes against the Celtics, scoring 19 points on 7-of-18 shooting.
Antetokounmpo is coming off a stretch of 15 missed games, which followed eight missed games from Dec. 3-26 with a strained right calf and four missed games with a strained left adductor Nov. 20-26. He also exited games early with injuries on Nov. 17, Dec. 3 and the final seconds of his last game on Jan. 23.
“Feel good, feel a little bit rusty, but obviously something new in my career being out for such a long time and not just one time, multiple times into a season,” Antetokounmpo said. “Definitely disrupt my rhythm, but at the end of the day, I just try to take it day-by-day, game-by-game. I'm happy that I'm back. I'm just happy that I'm on the court. It doesn't matter if I play 18 minutes, 20 minutes, 22, whatever, I'm just happy that I'm out there. I'm just in a mindset where I try not to take nothing for granted.
“Obviously, did not play well tonight, but at the end of the day, I'm just happy that I'm out there being able to help my teammates in any way that I can and just do what I love, which is play basketball.”
Antetokounmpo knocked on the covered wood table in front of him when talking about this lengthier rehab process, as it was the second serious strain of his calf and the larger fear of an Achilles injury obviously loomed over the process.
Antetokounmpo acknowledged several times that, as an older player, his returns from injury may need to take longer. And, his desire to come back sooner from his previous muscle strains may have only hurt him this year than helped.
The last time Antetokounmpo was at full capacity was Nov. 15, before he strained his left adductor on Nov. 17.
In all, he played just 12 games without being injured, recovering from an injury, or on a minute restriction.
“If you’re not able to take care of your soft tissue injuries, they can linger, and I think that’s what has happened this year,” Antetokounmpo acknowledged. “I feel like I’ve been playing the whole year with like a deficit.”
But against Boston, Antetokounmpo showed some explosion, particularly with three dunks.
“This is the first time I feel like I have a little bit in my tank, that I’m not risking anything,” he said. “So, I’m happy that I’m here.”
Perhaps that’s why he didn’t want to get too deep into commenting on the state of the team.
Unlike his return from his first calf injury in Chicago on Dec. 27, when he forcefully declared the team needed to continue forge a strong identity of playing hard to the final buzzer, he shied away from making any declarations when asked what he can do to help the team rediscover it over the final stretch.
He pondered the question for about seven seconds before saying, “I’ll be honest with you. I try as much as I can when I do this stuff to answer as honest as I can.
“Right now, I’m just trying to get back in a rhythm. Being able to not play for six weeks, the second time I actually played against contact was today, and I feel like the more I’m in shape, the more I have my wind under me, the more I can be able to help my team – not just like be a better basketball player, just be more vocal, right? The more you’re trying to figure out yourself and spots and try to figure out how you play with your teammates, the more you kind of cave into yourself and you’re not as vocal, you do not control the game as much. I think right now I’m at that place, I’m trying to figure out myself.
“I’m trying to figure out how can I fit in, into the team, which a lot of people might say you should not try to fit in, you should just go out there and play. But, no, it’s the reality. I’m trying to figure out how to play with Scoot [Kevin Porter Jr.], Ryan [Rollins], Cam [Thomas], Ous[mane Dieng] and all these guys. Maybe this is the first time in my career that they’ve got to help me find my identity and not vice versa.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo happy to be back playing after injuries