Giannis Antetokounmpo exited early in the first quarter against the Pistons after dropping to the floor with a scary-looking lower leg injury. The Milwaukee Bucks quickly ruled him out for the rest of the night with what was called a right calf strain. Postgame, Doc Rivers allayed the worst of observers' fears by saying he does not believe the injury involves Giannis' Achilles.
"Yeah, I think we've ruled that out, honestly," Rivers told reporters. For now, at least, fans can breathe a tentative sigh of relief.
Rivers quells Achilles dread for now, but uncertainty remains
Although Giannis was eventually able to leave the court under his own power, it was a nerve-racking play after all the non-contact injuries NBA fans have witnessed within the last year. For Rivers' part, he's not so sure Giannis' incident qualified as a non-contact injury at all.
"I don't think it was no contact either. I thought the bump, if you watch, the bump drive, that's what threw him off balance. He got bumped and then somebody landed on top of him, so I thought the bump is what made him lose his balance. And then it looked like no one was around, but I thought it was the bump that threw him off balance."
Rivers also mentioned that the team's medical staff escorted Giannis to a nearby hospital for an MRI immediately afterward.
While the injury may not entail a worst-case scenario, it still could be serious.
Even with Rivers' explanation, exactly how Giannis got hurt isn't clear. He came up gimpy following a play where he bumped with Pistons center Jalen Duren on a drive toward the basket, before Duren forced him to the baseline and Giannis found AJ Green for a layup. Though seemingly fine in the immediate aftermath, Giannis dropped to the floor a few steps later and remained down while play continued on the other end.
Most likely, something happened during that sequence, either on Giannis' initial push to the basket or in the process of making a somewhat awkward pass teetering on the baseline. Still, it isn't clear. One thing that didn't happen was anyone falling over Giannis, an oddly misplaced element included in Rivers' recreation of the play.
The game was only Giannis' fourth back after missing time due to a groin strain. Having him sidelined for further games is obviously not in the Bucks' favor after they went 0-5 without him. Of course, it's also fair to wonder whether playing without him is something the team should start getting used to with all the reinvigorated trade drama.
Right now, though, that's not the focus. The focus is Giannis' health and whether or not he sustained a severe injury. Relatively speaking, hopefully the MRI offers favorable news for both Giannis and the Bucks. In the meantime, all anxious fans can do is await the next update.