Could the Milwaukee Bucks’ two best players miss out on their 2024 Emirate NBA Cup championship clash against the Oklahoma Thunder, slated for Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. ET?
According to the NBA’s latest injury report, eight-time All-NBA Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and eight-time All-Star point guard Damian Lillard have seen their status downgraded to merely probable to suit up. Antetokounmpo continues to deal with a right patella tendinopathy that has bugged him for weeks, while Lillard is struggling with a right calf contusion. Former three-time All-Star small forward Khris Middleton is listed as probable to play through a non-COVID-19 illness. Rookie two-way center Liam Robbins, meanwhile, is merely questionable to play through a left ankle sprain.
Milwaukee has gone undefeated (6-0) in NBA Cup play, as it gears up for its first NBA Cup final. Following a miserable 2-8 start to their 2024-25 season, the Bucks have gone an impressive 12-3 to improve their record to a far more solid 14-11 on the year. They’ve won three straight bouts. Milwaukee is currently the Eastern Conference’s No. 5 seed, just 0.5 games ahead of the 13-11 Miami Heat and eight games behind the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Thunder, meanwhile, are 20-5 on the year, are riding a five-game win streak, and already look like the best team in the Western Conference. The darnedest thing is that most of the team’s NBA Cup run has been done without Oklahoma City’s third-best player, All-Rookie First Team big man Chet Holmgren, who is dealing with a hip fracture. The 7-foot-1 Gonzaga product remains shelved for at least three to five more weeks. He had been averaging 16.4 points on .505/.378/.776 shooting splits, 8.7 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 2.0 assists, and 0.8 steals across just 10 healthy games. Two other rotation big men, 6-foot-10 power forward Ousmane Dieng (small right ring finger fracture) and 6-foot-8 third-year center/power forward Jaylin Williams (right hamstring strain) are also sidelined for this matchup. 6-foot-6 third-year starting power forward Jalen Williams, however, is healthy.
The 8:30 p.m. ET matchup will be staged in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, and is set to air on ABC. Whatever happens, the game won’t actually count towards either club’s regular season record, but will give the victor bragging rights and a trophy and banner, plus will pay out $500K to each standard roster player.
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