The Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night, but that’s not the worst news.
They lost Giannis Antetokounmpo to a groin injury just before halftime, and he didn’t return.
After the game, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers provided an update to reporters, and it didn’t sound good.
“We won’t know anything until tomorrow. Didn’t look great, I can tell you that,” Rivers said, via The Athletic’s Eric Nehm.
Doc Rivers told reporters that he had no further update on Giannis Antetokounmpo and the next step will be imaging on Antetokounmpo’s left groin strain.
“We won’t know anything until tomorrow. Didn’t look great, I can tell you that.” – Rivers
MORE: Cooper Flagg joins a list with LeBron and Kobe
NBA insider Marc Stein confirmed in his own post that there’ll be an MRI coming for Giannis.
This would be a brutal hit to the Bucks if Antetokounmpo has to miss time.
He’s playing at a supreme MVP level this season. He’s handling the ball more while being dominant inside and also making more shots from the perimeter.
A Bucks team without Antetokounmpo doesn’t have a ton of threats. But with him on the floor, the whole balance of power shifts.
Especially given that Giannis asking for a trade isn’t an impossibility, the Bucks need this season to keep going well. And for that to happen, they need him healthy.
An MRI on Tuesday could be crucial to what comes next.
Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle