Sunday night's 121-105 defeat to the OKC Thunder wasn't the only bad thing the Milwaukee Bucks had to deal with this weekend, with head coach Doc Rivers announcing prior to the game that center Jericho Sims had injured his thumb.
Sims did manage to play against the Thunder, but it has been suggested by the coaching staff that surgery is under consideration, making the injury clearly worse than first thought. The big man had been a great addition to the Milwaukee Bucks, with his athleticism and speed bringing something to the frontcourt that was lacking before he arrived.
In Saturday's win over the Indiana Pacers, Sims had been integral and was a huge part of a lineup that looked fun but also had a great amount of success. His ability to switch and guard any position has been a great asset for the team. If he does miss the season following surgery, the Bucks will have a real problem on their hands.
If Jericho Sims does miss time, what do the Milwaukee Bucks do?
It is quite telling with this Milwaukee Bucks roster that we are regarding a mid-season addition who is on a $2 million contract and a free agent this offseason as a difference-maker, but Sims has been that valuable for the team due to his sheer athleticism and versatility.
He is only averaging 15 minutes per game with Milwaukee, but he is so different from Brook Lopez that the team looks completely different on both ends of the floor.
There has been no news yet on what they will do with Sims, but they will likely wait it out and hope it somehow gets better. Bobby Portis' suspension doesn't help, and it would leave Lopez looking very lonely as the only center. Sims had started to take minutes from the veteran due to the versatility, but now we may see more of Giannis Antetokounmpo at the five position.
If he does miss time, it would certainly open the door for rookie Tyler Smith to earn some minutes. Portis won't be back until the final couple of regular season games, but Smith at least would give you that youth and vertical threat. Of course, it would be rough as he has only featured in 18 games, playing more than 10 minutes once in a defeat to the Thunder in February when all the starters were rested, so he's not very experienced.
Injuries have been a huge issue for the Milwaukee Bucks in recent seasons and have dictated when their season ends. It doesn't look like they are going away. Sims may choose to try playing through the injury, but there is a huge call to be made regarding the severity of the issue.
Milwaukee now has a tough Western stretch ahead, where they face the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets before returning to Wisconsin at the end of the month. It will be a gauntlet, and if they do end up shorthanded at center, there will be huge calls for Rivers to make regarding his rotation.
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