The Milwaukee Bucks have suffered their first significant injury of the season as John Henson is set to undergo wrist surgery and miss at least 12 weeks.
Across the course of a long and arduous NBA season, health and how fortunate a team gets on that front often end up being decisive in just how successful they can be in a larger sense.
On that note, the Milwaukee Bucks were struck by their first meaningful blow of the 2018-19 season as news emerged of a significant injury for veteran center John Henson on Friday morning.
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According to an official release from the team, John Henson has a torn left wrist ligament which will require surgery.
(That statement from the Bucks also shared an update on Donte DiVincenzo, who is set to miss the next three games before being re-evaluated with his left quadriceps strain.)
That press release explains that the injury occurred in the loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, before being aggravated further during Milwaukee’s most recent defeat against the Memphis Grizzlies.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Henson will likely miss at least 12 weeks, meaning his return would be scheduled for after the All-Star break.
Sources on @TheAthleticNBA @WatchStadium: Milwaukee center John Henson's expected timetable is a minimum of 12 weeks with torn ligament in left wrist -- likely post All-Star break. Henson plans to return this season.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 16, 2018
From an official perspective, the next update on Henson’s status will come from the team following his surgery.
Not only does that injury act as a major blow to the Bucks and the strength of their frontcourt rotation, but it will undoubtedly be a colossal disappointment to Henson on an individual level too.
Henson had surprised most NBA onlookers with the way in which he’d embraced the changes brought about by Mike Budenholzer and his staff in recent months. It was still a work in progress, but having made 35.5 percent on 31 attempts from three-point range, it was apparent that Henson was extremely committed to the cause and Milwaukee’s new philosophies.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time in Henson’s career when injuries have intervened and disrupted him, just as it seemed he was making notable progress. For a player who has a reputation for being somewhat inconsistent, part of that inconsistency can certainly be attributed to the role injuries have played during his time in the NBA.
With Henson’s misfortune, opportunity knocks for two of Milwaukee’s younger players who have been on the fringes of the rotation in the early stages of the season.
Thon Maker will be the player tasked with the greatest responsibility in stepping up to act as Brook Lopez‘s primary backup, but Christian Wood will also likely receive some playing time behind him.
Those minutes may well be beneficial in the development for that young duo, but the Bucks will need production rather than just lessons learned considering the team’s loftier ambitions overall.