For the third time this season, the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics are slated to play on Friday.
Both teams are dealing with injuries leading up to this nationally televised contest, with key cogs on both side sides banged up. With that said, let us analyze the current injury report.
Bucks injury report for Friday
Probable: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Right patella tendinopathy), Khris Middleton (Bilateral ankle surgery)
Questionable: MarJon Beauchamp (Neck spasms), Taurean Prince (Non-COVID illness)
Out: AJ Johnson (G-League), Chris Livingston (G-League), Tyler Smith (G-League)
Celtics injury report for Friday
Available: Jayson Tatum (Right patella tendinopathy), Al Horford (Left big toe sprain)
Out: Kristaps Porzingis (Left posterior tibialis tendon injury management), JD Davidson (G-League), Anton Watson (G-League)
Help is on the way for the Milwaukee Bucks, not so much for Boston
For the first time this season, Khris Middleton has an injury designation other than "out." He is in line to make his season debut after missing the first 21 games due to offseason ankle surgery. While he's likely to take the floor, fans should not expect to see him for 30-plus minutes. This game will be about him getting his feet wet for the first time in many months.
While Giannis Antetokounmpo is listed on the injury report, it has been like this for most of the year. It's something he's been dealing with, but he's playing through it. That will likely remain the case vs. the Celtics. Taurean Prince's absence could be a big loss for the Bucks if he does indeed sit out, as he has been a significant spark lately.
On the other side of things, the Celtics are dealing with injuries to several key pieces. Tatum is the biggest name, but as Bucks fans know, Horford is also a prominent name involved whenever these two teams play. While they were initially questionable, they are in line to play.
Porzingis would also provide valuable size when going up against Giannis and Brook Lopez, but he will be out for this particular matchup.
Coming off a loss to the Atlanta Hawks, this would be a needed bounce-back victory for Milwaukee, especially since they dropped the first two meetings of the season against Boston. There has been no shortage of chatter about Milwaukee's subpar record against top-tier teams, and the Bucks have a chance here to silence those critics.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.