Giannis Antetokounmpo Expected to Return for Bucks in Game 4 vs. Heat

Buck star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is likely return to the lineup for Monday’s Game 4 of the first-round series vs. the Heat, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Antetokounmpo has been sidelined with a lower back contusion and officially has been listed as questionable. The top-seeded Bucks trail the series, 2-1.

Coach Mike Budenholzer made it sound as if Antetokounmpo’s status was still up in the air on Sunday. This after Antetokounmpo did some individual work.

“We’ll see how he feels from this session today and see how he wakes up tomorrow,” Budenholzer said, via Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“I think the medical group, myself, (general manager Jon Horst), Giannis just gotta feel like he’s in a place where he can play. It’s just a little bit of everything. When we make a decision, whether he’s in or out, we’ll let you guys know, but we’ll just continue to monitor him.”

Antetokopunmpo took part in Monday morning’s shootaround as well.

The Bucks are the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and it’s extremely rare for a top seed to lose to the No. 8 seed. But clearly, this series is not going to be easy.

Overall, Milwaukee is 12-9 with Antetokounmpo this season, including the two playoffs games.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is on the court with the rest of the team at shootaround this morning before Game 4 pic.twitter.com/edQEOP8hGL

— Jamal Collier (@JamalCollier) April 24, 2023