The Milwaukee Bucks staved off playoff elimination by besting the Miami Heat in overtime in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Sunday, but the win wasn’t without a big loss. Reigning league MVP Giannis Antetokoumpo was lost for the remainder of the game after suffering a sprained right ankle in the first half. Now many are wondering what his status will be for tonight’s Game 5, a game that could see the Bucks eliminated from the playoffs.
You can see video of the injury below, and while it doesn’t look at that bad, it’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time Giannis has experienced problems with his ankle. In fact, he had tweaked the ankle in Game 3, and he worked out in front of team doctors ahead of Game 4. Team doctors cleared him to play, but he rolled the same ankle in the first half of Game 4 and missed the remainder of the game.
Dr. Silverman Comments
This is a classic inversion sprain in which the foot rolls outward as the right leg is handling the weight of his body. It actually looks pretty innocuous compared to many of the foot and ankle injuries we analyze on this blog, but it makes more sense when we consider that Giannis had injured the same ankle ligaments in the previous game.
Right now his lateral ankle ligaments are injured and cannot provide as much natural stability to the ankle joint. As we’ve seen with Steph Curry, this will put him at a greater likelihood of suffering another roll or sprain to the same ankle, further injuring the ligaments. He’s also likely dealing with swelling and pain that often accompanies these injuries, but the team doctors should be able to manage these as best as possible.
Predicting whether or not Giannis will play in Game 5 is difficult. Giannis has proven to be a tough competitor, so you can bet that he wants to be on the court to help his top-seeded Bucks stave off elimination for another day. On the flip side, he’s one year away from free agency and being able to sign a maximum deal with any team, so he has his long-term health to consider as well. Playing on the foot would be to risk another injury and the possibility of needing surgery, but staying off the court hurts Milwaukee’s ability to advance.
Giannis was seen in a walking boot at the conclusion of Game 4, so it’s clear that it wasn’t just painful in the moment. He’s had two straight games injuring the same ankle, and there’s no ignoring the fact that a 3-1 deficit would be tough to turn around even if you have the reigning league MVP on the court. If we had to try our hand at predicting the future, we’d guess that Giannis will be held out of Game 5 while the ankle injury heals, and he may try to return later in the series if Milwaukee can get by without him in Game 5. We absolutely wouldn’t be surprised if he played, but given the limited information on the injury and all the other factors at play, it seems more likely that he’ll miss Game 5. We’ll find out in the next few hours.