An Ominous Giannis Antetokounmpo Injury and the NBA's Chicken/Egg Question
ATLANTA—For the first two-plus quarters of Tuesday’s Game 4 tilt between Atlanta and Milwaukee, we saw what the Hawks looked like without their best player Trae Young, who was out after suffering a bone bruise to his right foot in the Hawks’ Game 3 loss.
The Milwaukee Bucks found themselves in a similar predicament with 7:14 to play in the third quarter on Tuesday when two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo went down with a hyperextended left knee injury that kept him from returning.
Their injuries, an unfortunate, but all too common, trend this year in the playoffs with star players, creates a combination of added concerns and opportunities for teams.
Those opportunities and their impact become amplified in the playoffs, a time when role players either step up and meet the moment head-on, or shrivel up under the increased pressure.
As important as Young and Antetokounmpo have been to their respective teams as their go-to players, there have been players for both Atlanta and Milwaukee who at times have shined in leading roles.
In Milwaukee’s Game 3 win, it was Khris Middleton—not Antetokounmpo or Young—who was the best player on the floor and, truth be told, the ultimate difference-maker with 20 of his game-high 38 points coming in the fourth quarter.
On Tuesday, Lou Williams dropped a game-high 21 points for the Hawks on a super-efficient 7-of-9 shooting night from the field to go with eight assists and just one turnover.
Williams has been among the NBA’s best reserves for years, evident by him winning the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award three times (2015, 2018 and 2019).
But his performance had added significance not because of how he played, but more so how he played when the pressure to win was at its highest.
That’s why when it comes to figuring out whether it’s stars that make the playoffs, or playoffs make stars, the latter wins out overwhelmingly.
And the reason?
Because being a playoff standout brings about a different kind of credibility than those whose best days are ahead of the playoffs.
Take Williams for example.
Outside of his first two NBA seasons, the 31-year-old has been a double-digit scorer every year he has been in the NBA. He has scored more than 15,000 career points.
And yet, if the Hawks manage to get past the Bucks and on to the NBA Finals, his past accolades will pale in comparison to what he did Tuesday by filling in for an injured Young to lead Atlanta to a 2-2 series tie heading back to Milwaukee for Game 5.
On the flipside, you have the Bucks and their other All-Star, Middleton.
He is not going to blow you away with his foot speed, or play above the rim. And his ball-handling, while much improved from where it was a couple years ago, is never going to draw comparisons to the likes of Kyrie Irving or any other top-tier (or second-tier) ankle-breaking playmaker.
But more nights than not, Middleton has proven himself to be just as good—and on some nights better—than any other player on the floor.
He entered Game 4 averaging 23.1 points in the playoffs this season, to go with 7.9 rebounds (a career-high for him in the postseason) and 4.7 assists per game.
And as this series moves on, it’s becoming clearer that the team to move on will be the team whose players do the best job of making the pivot from solid role player to playoff superstar.
The Latest on Young, Antetokounmpo Injuries
It’s unclear if Young sitting out Game 4 was just a one-game deal, or whether he’ll be sidelined for the rest of the series.
After Game 4, Atlanta interim head coach Nate McMillan said Young will be a game-time decision for Game 5.
There’s a higher level of uncertainty and concern surrounding Antetokounmpo, who had 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists before his injury ended his night Tuesday.
Following the game, Antetokounmpo walked toward the team bus with a noticeable limp, clearly putting as little weight on it as possible. ESPN’s Malika Andrews reported that Antetokounmpo will undergo an MRI upon returning to Milwaukee.
While parallels can certainly be drawn between the two stars suffering injuries, there’s one distinct difference.
When Young suffered his injury near the end of the third quarter of Game 3, he would eventually return to the floor only to spend the final minute or so of the game on the Hawks bench.
Antetokounmpo’s injury happened about midway through the third quarter of Game 4, but unlike Young, Antetokounmpo did not return.
As Antetokounmpo laid on the baseline near the Atlanta Hawks bench for several seconds, he was eventually helped to his feet before limping off the floor with the aid of the Bucks medical staff and his brother, Thanasis Antetokounmpo.
When Antetokounmpo left the floor, Atlanta led 62-52.
It took the Hawks less than three minutes to double their lead, to 74-54.
A Bucks source indicated Antetokounmpo would not have been able to return to Game 4 after the injury, regardless of the score.
While coaches and players are mixed on the role that momentum from one game to another means, there is no denying the Hawks head back to Milwaukee feeling confident in their play, with or without Young available.
In a series that may be determined by which role players can morph into one-night wonders and become stars, the Hawks appear to have a few more options to take on that role than the Bucks.
Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo’s uncertain status for Game 5 puts an even greater premium on Middleton, who has shown himself to be the best player on the floor at times even when Young and Antetokounmpo are healthy.
Middleton, who had 16 points in Game 4, has shown the ability to get jacuzzi-hot with his shot-making regardless of what teams try to do defensively.
“A guy like (Middleton), when he's in that type of zone or just that type of player, the best defense is you don't allow him to catch it,” Hawks interim head coach Nate McMillan said prior to Game 4. “That's the first—do your work early and try to deny his catch or force that catch out. Then if he gets hot, you need to send help to him.”
That becomes easier to accomplish without having to worry about Antetokounmpo.
The Bigger Picture
What we are seeing now is the fragility of being a championship-contending team in the NBA.
The Eastern Conference Finals by no means has a patent on key players missing games with injuries.
Their Western Conference brethren, the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Clippers, both have made it to the conference finals in spite of missing key players along the journey.
The Clippers have been getting it done without Kawhi Leonard, their best player, since Game 4 of their second-round series against the Utah Jazz.
Fellow Clippers All-Star Paul George has been the team’s go-to guy in Leonard’s absence, but role players like Reggie Jackson and Terance Mann have been pivotal in the short-handed Clippers managing to keep their season alive.
Meanwhile, the Suns came away with wins in Games 1 and 2 without Chris Paul, who was a top-five finisher this year for the league’s MVP award. His absence opened the door for reserve Cameron Payne, who averaged 20 points and nine assists while filling in for Paul.
Payne’s strong play served as yet another reminder of how the playoffs can create stars whose play meets the moment.
