NBA Notes: Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Pistons, Cade Cunningham, Cavs

Bucks

The Bucks could be getting their superstar back just in time.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is expected to suit up Saturday against Chicago, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic, though final clearance will come after pregame testing by the team’s medical staff.

Antetokounmpo has missed eight games with a right calf strain, an injury he suffered in the opening quarter against Detroit on December 3. Milwaukee won that game, but has gone 2-6 since, with the offense sputtering without Giannis’ presence. The Bucks scored 105 points or fewer in five of those losses.

Giannis has steadily ramped up his workload, including participating in a full-contact three-on-three scrimmage following Tuesday’s shootaround.

When healthy, he has been dominant, averaging 28.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists in just over 29 minutes per game while shooting a career-best 63.9 percent from the field. Milwaukee is 10-7 in games he has played.

With trade chatter swirling during his absence, Antetokounmpo recently made it clear where his focus lies.

“I’m still locked in,” he said earlier this month. “Locked in on my teammates. Most importantly, locked in on me getting back healthy.”

At 12-19, the Bucks sit 11th in the East and badly need stability.

Pistons

Detroit suffered just its seventh loss of the season Friday, falling 131-129 to Utah, but the way it happened frustrated head coach J.B. Bickerstaff.

The Jazz poured in 44 points in the third quarter, swinging the game and exposing defensive lapses.

“Discipline. Execution. Commitment to who we are,” Bickerstaff said, per Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. “Forty-four points in a quarter is unacceptable.”

Cade Cunningham echoed that sentiment after the game.

“This isn’t the level that we should be playing at,” Cunningham said, via Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. “We know we’re better than this. It’s in our standard.”

Cavaliers

The Cavaliers’ biggest flaw showed up again at the worst possible time.

Cleveland surrendered multiple key offensive rebounds down the stretch in its Christmas Day collapse against New York, blowing a 17-point lead at Madison Square Garden. Joe Vardon of The Athletic notes that the issue goes beyond strength or size.

“I think it starts with mentality,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “It’s not physicality to me. It’s like, ‘Are you focused? Are you seeing your man? Are you going to crash? Are you gonna get a hit first?’”

The decisive play came when Karl-Anthony Towns slipped in from the corner for a tip-in after a missed jumper, a moment Atkinson pointed to as emblematic of Cleveland’s lapses.

For a team trying to reassert itself as a contender, those details continue to loom large.