The Eastern Conference's third-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, currently trailing the sixth-seeded Indiana Pacers 2-1 in their ongoing first-round playoff series, will be even more shorthanded than usual in an absolutely critical Game 4 matchup today.
With the matchup slated to tip off at 7 p.m. ET in Indianapolis, the Bucks will be taking the court missing their two best players: All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo will miss his fourth straight game of the series with a lingering calf strain, while Damian Lillard will miss his first due to an Achilles injury he suffered in Game 3, per Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report.
Though the Bucks began the day as +5.5 point underdogs already, according to sportsbook aggregator The Action Network, Milwaukee's line has since fallen to +10, no doubt thanks to this news about Lillard. The continued absence of "The Greek Freak" Antetokounmpo had already been anticipated.
When Milwaukee acquired Lillard late in the 2023 offseason period by offloading All-Defensive Team star Jrue Holiday to Lillard's old club, the Portland Trail Blazers (he was since flipped to the Boston Celtics, now the heavy favorites to win the Eastern Conference), it seemed like the team was destined for a deep postseason run and to return to title contention, following two straight seasons of disappointing playoff finishes that saw the Bucks fall short of even making the Eastern Conference Finals.
Instead, Milwaukee has seemed somewhat snakebitten this season. The club's defense-for-offense switch pulverized its previously strong perimeter attack. New head coach Adrian Griffin's decision to start sharpshooter Malik Beasley only served to compound Lillard's vulnerabilities at that end of the floor. Lillard, meanwhile, seemed to have lost a step from his All-NBA prime in Portland.
Griffin was eventually fired mid-season, and replaced by longtime East head coach Doc Rivers. Rivers quickly put a new emphasis on defense, and eventually shifted buyout market signing Patrick Beverley (an alum of Rivers' L.A. Clippers era) to starting shooting guard honors next to Lillard. The Bucks finished the season with a somewhat disappointing 49-33 record and a first-round matchup against the Pacers. Indiana has always seemed to have Milwaukee's number in 2024-25, having finished with a 4-1 head-to-head record. The absence of Antetokounmpo, however, seemed to spell almost certain doom for the Bucks' chances of advancing.
Lillard essentially needed to put the team on his back like it was in 2019 if Milwaukee was going to have a chance in this series. And he did. Across his first three games of the series, the 6-foot-3 Weber State product averaged 32.3 PPG on .415/.444/.964 shooting splits, 5.3 APG, 3.7 RPG and 1.3 SPG.
Without Lillard or Antetokounmpo tonight, the Bucks will lean on small forward Khris Middleton to supply far more of its offense than usual, against a far younger and more athletic Pacers squad that's fairly healthy.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek contributing writer Alex Kirschenbaum is a hoops fanatic who has managed to parlay his passion into a writing career. ... Read more
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