The Milwaukee Bucks have been plagued by an assortment of injuries and illnesses during the first portion of the 2021-22 NBA regular season. As a result, they have been shorthanded lately, but the team delivered some good news just in time for the holidays. It looks like reinforcements are on the way for Milwaukee’s Christmas matchup against the Boston Celtics.
The Milwaukee Bucks delivered some good news ahead of tomorrow’s Christmas showdown with the Boston Celtics
The latest injury report for tomorrow’s matchup included just two names, with Donte DiVincenzo being listed as questionable due to health and safety protocols and Brook Lopez being ruled out as he recovers from back surgery. The latter should certainly not be a surprise, but seeing DiVincenzo marked as questionable is eye-catching. Of course, the guard has missed the entire season to this point as he recovers from ankle surgery in June, and he was scheduled to make his return earlier in the month before he entered the league’s health and safety protocols. After his initial return date got pushed back, it looks like DiVincenzo could make his season debut on Christmas. While it is far from a guarantee that he will be back out on the floor, it is welcoming knowing that it is possible.
Two players that were notably absent from the latest injury report were Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis. Antetokounmpo missed the last five games after entering the protocols, and as ESPN’s Zach Lowe reported this morning, he will get back on the court today and a decision will be made tomorrow whether or not he will play in the matchup. Time will tell if the Greek Freak is ready to play in the game, but it is great to see him exit the protocols nevertheless. He was having yet another dominant season before being put in the protocols, and it will be great to see him back on the court, whenever that is. He will undoubtedly be itching to get back out there.
As for Portis, he has missed Milwaukee’s last four games after entering the protocols himself. The center was having a career year before his season was put on pause, and hopefully he can pick up where he left off when he returns. While Antetokounmpo is reportedly going to test himself out to see if he can play, all signs point to Portis being out there at the time of this writing. Portis should get a warm welcome from the Fiserv Forum crowd whenever he takes the court, as everyone has certainly missed him over this stretch. Another big man that was not listed on the injury report is Sandro Mamukelashvili, who has missed the previous two games with a non-covid illness. It looks like he will be back in the fold as well, which will be a boost down low.
All in all, this is fantastic news for the Bucks after a turbulent past few weeks. Getting back a pair of key contributors along with the potential season debut for DiVincenzo would be the perfect gift for Christmas. Be sure to catch the game against the Celtics at 1:00 p.m. CST on ABC in what should be another great contest between these two teams.