Antetokounmpo and Middleton return.

‘The Athletic’ reported on the 23rd (Korean time) that the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo and Chris Middleton will return to play in an away game against the Detroit Pistons on the 24th.

Milwaukee, a strong player in the Eastern Conference, has slightly lost pace compared to the early season when they were leading the league. While slowing down, it gave up second place to Philadelphia and fell to third place, and the gap with Boston in first place widened to 5.5 games. 안전놀이터

The issue of injuries to key players was painful. Second option Chris Middleton, who had a late start to the season due to left wrist surgery, left again after playing 7 games after returning, and even ace Giannis Antetokounmpo also missed the last 5 games in a row due to a knee injury.

Although the team’s circumstances are urgent, Milwaukee did not hurry to return the two players. In the case of Antetokounmpo, he was managed so well that he missed 15 games last season. 

Manager Mike Budenholzer said, “Making Giannis Antetokounmpo healthy and fit is always our priority. We know how important he is to us, so we will always be careful.”

Although the remaining players struggled, it was Milwaukee that could not easily fill the gap between the two players. The atmosphere was sluggish with only 2 wins in the previous 5 games. They won two consecutive victories thanks to the great performance of Georges Halladay, but were unable to continue their momentum with a recent loss to Cleveland.

Milwaukee, which was struggling in the aftermath of the injury, was equipped with full power as Antetokounmpo and Middleton made a comeback at the same time. After playing against Detroit, Milwaukee is facing a big match with Denver, the leader of the Western Conference, on the 26th.