After leaving just three minutes into the Bucks’ comeback win over the Pistons, the full severity of Giannis’ injury has been revealed. According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the two-time MVP will be out two to four weeks with a right calf strain. This is the second time Giannis has been injured this season, after missing four games with a groin strain over the past three weeks. Doc Rivers confirmed to the media last night after the game that he believed they had already ruled out an Achilles injury, and that he was getting an MRI that night.
This all comes after Shams reported that Giannis was meeting with the Bucks front office to discuss his future with the team. While that seemed somewhat alarming at the time, Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel confirmed with a league source that this type of meeting is typical between the two sides; the only difference is that this meeting was made public.
If the injury is on the shorter end of the spectrum, Giannis could be back in action by either their third game against the Toronto Raptors this season on December 18 or at the beginning of their road trip against the Minnesota Timberwolves on December 21. If Giannis were to miss the entire four weeks and return for their road game against the Kings on January 4, he would then become ineligible for any regular-season awards, including any All-NBA teams. The Greek Freak has already missed six games this season, sitting out a game against the Warriors in October, a game against the Hornets last month, and the four games due to his groin strain. The Bucks are currently 1-5 in games he doesn’t play in and 2-6 in games he doesn’t finish due to injury.
In 17 games this season, Giannis is averaging 28.9 points per game, 10.1 rebounds, 6.1 assists, while shooting 63.9% from the field and 43.5% from the three-point line (1.4 attempts per game).