Milwaukee Bucks

3 teams will look to start rounding into playoff shape. The other finds themselves at a crossroad.

The Suns, 7-3, have a better record in their last 10 games than the Thunder but i trust the OKC offense more. With arguably the most versatile defender in the league (Bam Adebayo) playing next to Love, the Heat should be able to maximize whatever Love has left in the tank. For OKC, they are a game outside of the play-in and you have to wonder what direction the team will go in. For Phoenix, they will have 20 or so games to incorporate one of the best players in the world into a team that has looked lifeless. With Gianni’s status up in the air, it’s hard to feel too strongly about one side over the other. Having won 10 games in a row, and with most of their team now fully healthy, they look like the team we expected would be in contention for the Eastern Conference crown. Statistically, Ayton is one of the league’s worst rim protectors and has played a particularly brutal brand of uninspired basketball. They are few teams in the league that can afford to play Love consistent minutes and field a competent defense. With a little over 20 games left for each team before the playoffs, teams that see themselves as contenders will look to start peaking as the postseason approaches. His long term aspirations are probably somewhere other than Phoenix but he should capitalize on the opportunity that stands before him and raise his level of play. Of course, we know Jimmy Butler will morph into an absolute monster once the playoffs start but their lack of spacing around him has caused fans to wonder whether they deserve to be mentioned amongst the elite. For Milwaukee, injuries and an overall lack of depth led to inconsistent play at the start of the season.

A team spokesperson said Antetokounmpo "knocked knees" with a Heat player, which Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer confirmed during his postgame press ...

As a result of the wrist injury, Antetokounmpo sat out of the Skills Challenge on All-Star Saturday Night and played just 20 seconds in the All-Star Game on Sunday. He was asking for the timeout, so we had to call the timeout... However, Budenholzer acknowledged during his pre-game press conference that Antetokounmpo was "certainly not gonna be 100 percent." He started walking off the floor as play was going on and the Bucks called a timeout to get him out of the game. [Jevon Carter](/nba/players/2153082/jevon-carter/) and immediately signaled to the bench. Despite Antetokounmpo playing just six minutes, the Bucks cruised to a 13th consecutive win, which is now the longest winning streak in the league this season.

When Giannis Antetokounmpo left early with a knee injury, Jrue Holiday picked up the load by scoring 24 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks past the Miami ...

The Bucks are now on a 13-game winning streak.

He was huge for the Heat in the bubble, but ever since then, yikes. [BreakingT](https://breakingt.com/collections/milwaukee-basketball?rfsn=1257767.3e164c) The Bucks held the Heat to 39.1 percent shooting tonight. In 22 minutes of action off the bench, he stepped up and contributed with a sound 18 points and 11 rebounds. The fans were also set for him, as the Bobby chants came out less than 30 seconds of his return to the court. He then talked about how he just wants to play and how he’s a proven winner. However, that hype was short-lived, as Antetokounmpo told Mike Budenholzer to call a timeout in the first quarter and then hobbled to the locker room. He hadn’t gotten the full report at the time he chatted with us. There was excitement and shock that Giannis worked his way back to full health so quickly following a sprained wrist ligament, going from doubtful to questionable to starting — all in one day. He’d pour in four points in the opening quarter, but ten points off the bench from Bobby Portis (who was also making his return) aided the Bucks in securing a 42-32 lead after one quarter of play. The Bucks would coast to the finish line and wrap things up with an impressive 128-99 victory. Those were two of the main ingredients in allowing the Bucks to stay ahead by a significant margin going into the fourth at 95-74.

The Giannis Effect is more than just the Bucks MVP's massive popularity. He might also just be uniting us.

What fans then look to, on a global basis, is a combination of the success of the team, the style of basketball they play and the personalities of the players.” “It starts with the players, there’s no question, and Giannis in particular, by him having “But over the years, we started to see more people come to the games. Giannis wore “Equality” on the back of his jersey in the bubble in Orlando. Middleton feels like the Bucks are “all on the same level, the whole team,” when they are out in public in Milwaukee. Giannis has become one of the most “The Bucks are doing a better job of that, trying to make our city better, our community better. So, it’s more of a rare sighting to see him: two-time MVP, one of the best players who has ever played this game.” “They care about the Milwaukee Bucks winning and coming together and rooting for their team." We’ve tried to excel in the U.S., where it’s multicultural.” He’s created that togetherness around basketball and around the Bucks. The man who in his charming Greek accent tells the worst jokes on the planet – in contrast to his savage tree-chopping approach to the rim – has helped boost the Bucks' image and the openings of Fiserv Forum (2018), the surrounding Deer District (2017) and the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Sports Science Center (2017).

After a lengthy All-Star Break, we have our latest glimpse at Milwaukee Bucks basketball since last Thursday's pounding of the Chicago Bulls.

[ESPN+](http://go.web.plus.espn.com/c/482924/555830/9070?subId2=[]sb[p]23377587[t]w[d]D&sharedid=BrewHoop) [ESPN+ 30 For 30](https://go.web.plus.espn.com/c/482924/662077/9070?subId2=[]sb[p]23377587[t]w[d]D&sharedid=BrewHoop) [Disney+](https://disneyplus.bn5x.net/c/482924/707629/9358?subId2=[]sb[p]23377587[t]w[d]D&sharedid=BrewHoop) [BreakingT](https://breakingt.com/collections/milwaukee-basketball?rfsn=1257767.3e164c) The [Miami Heat](https://www.hothothoops.com) are first up on the menu for the second “half” of the season, but the Bucks will likely be a bit shortwristed with Giannis Antetokounmpo listed as doubtful. Khris Middleton will have to pick up the scoring punch with Giannis Antetokounmpo out, but you can bet Spo will have a gameplan cooked up to throw multiple defenders his way. Lose big (by 10 or more points)(10 votes) His next highest scoring output is 21! [Kevin Love is set to make his debut after getting bought out in Cleveland too](https://www.hothothoops.com/2023/2/24/23613511/game-preview-miami-heat-face-rival-bucks-on-the-road-in-kevin-loves-debut), so the Heat have another shooter to add to their shooting-starved roster. As for Miami, they’ve found their footing as the year’s progressed and found their way to a 32-27 record after an uneven start. Facing the Miami Heat, whose bludgeoning play always makes for a tough game even when they’re not able to swarm Giannis every time he heads to the bucket. [superstar avoided serious injury](https://www.brewhoop.com/2023/2/20/23607923/report-giannis-antetokounmpo-suffers-sprained-wrist-ligament-milwaukee-bucks) when pounding into the stanchion beneath the basket against Chicago, the team has won 12 straight and they just got another wing player in Jae Crowder without giving up any substantial core roster pieces.

The Bucks are a game back of the Celtics for the top spot in the Eastern Conference after Boston's 122-118 overtime win against the Indiana Pacers on Thursday.

The Bucks have upgraded Giannis Antetokounmpo's injury status to questionable after initially being tagged as doubtful against the Heat.

They obviously want to keep their foot on the gas in their first game after the All-Star break, and it goes without saying that Giannis Antetokounmpo’s presence on the floor will go a long way in this objective, [upgraded to questionabl](https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1629226121790373888)e on Friday a few hours before tipoff. This is the same issue that forced the [Milwaukee Bucks](/nba/milwaukee-bucks) superstar to quickly exit the NBA All-Star Game after scoring in the opening play of the contest.

The Milwaukee Bucks (41-17) come out of the all-star break hosting the Miami Heat (32-27) at Fiserv Forum at 6:30 p.m. Friday. The game will be broadcast ...

9](https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2023/02/08/report-phoenix-suns-obtain-kevin-durant-in-trade-with-brooklyn-nets/69887246007/), but he's been out with a knee injury. [Kevin Durant will not make his debut for the Suns](https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2023/02/22/kevin-durants-phoenix-suns-debut-may-be-delayed-according-to-report/69934210007/). 16 in Chicago](https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2023/02/16/bucks-vs-bulls-score-game-updates-united-center-chicago-february-16-2023-injury-report-giannis/69905320007/), but participated briefly in the [NBA All-Star Game](https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2023/02/19/how-much-will-giannis-antetokounmpo-play-in-nba-all-star-game-tonight/69917401007/) on Sunday. 21](https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2023/01/12/khris-middletons-knee-feels-good-after-practice-with-bucks-teammates/69801676007/). 23 with [a sprained right medial collateral ligament](https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2023/01/25/milwaukee-bucks-bobby-portis-suffers-sprained-mcl-in-game-vs-pistons/69840820007/). He [practiced to some degree on Wednesday and Thursday](https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2023/02/23/giannis-antetokounmpo-practices-portis-middleton-set-to-return/69934238007/). He was reevaluated in New York Monday, and it was determined he [avoided major injury](https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2023/02/20/bucks-giannis-antetokounmpo-reportedly-avoids-serious-wrist-injury/69922004007/). "I tried to play the first game, not gonna lie," he said with a laugh. "I honestly don't know if that's a situation where it could linger, might linger, but I'm just kind of actually assuming we hope and obviously the best is that it will go away." [The Bucks acquired the Marquette University alumnus on Feb. The Milwaukee Bucks (41-17) come out of the all-star break hosting the Miami Heat (32-27) at Fiserv Forum at 6:30 p.m. After his pregame warmup, he was in the starting lineup.

The Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks have announced their injury reports.

Analyzing Friday's Miami Heat at Milwaukee Bucks odds and lines, with NBA expert picks, predictions and best bets.

[List Wire](https://thelistwire.usatoday.com/) [Rookie Wire](https://therookiewire.usatoday.com/) [LeBron Wire](https://lebronwire.usatoday.com/) [Warriors Wire](https://warriorswire.usatoday.com/) [Thunder Wire](https://okcthunderwire.usatoday.com/) [Sixers Wire](https://sixerswire.usatoday.com/) [Rockets Wire](https://rocketswire.usatoday.com/) [Nets Wire](https://netswire.usatoday.com/) [Celtics Wire](https://celticswire.usatoday.com/) [Bulls Wire](https://bullswire.usatoday.com/) Please [gamble responsibly](https://sportsbookwire.usatoday.com/bet-and-wager-101-responsible-gaming-and-gambling/). [Pick’em Challenge](https://dailyticket.usatoday.com/) and win!

By returning to the starting lineup Friday, the two-time MVP avoids missing any games due to the injury.

The Bucks will likely have an update on Antetokounmpo’s status and injury after tonight’s game, but for now, it is a waiting game to see what happened to the Bucks star. [Milwaukee Bucks](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/bucks/) star [Giannis Antetokounmpo](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/giannis-antetokounmpo-FV8e23LS5qDkPy4W/) exited Friday’s game against the [Miami Heat](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/heat/) and won’t return, the team announced. With just over a minute remaining in the first quarter of Friday’s game, Antetokounmpo appeared to be in some sort of discomfort as he prompted Budenholzer to burn a timeout. Antetokounmpo started the game after [spraining his right wrist](https://theathletic.com/4216819/2023/02/16/bucks-giannis-antetokounmpo-injury/) in a win over the [Chicago Bulls](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/bulls/) on Feb. “I haven’t gotten the full breakdown, but I’m pretty sure that there was either on a drive or a screen or something like that, that he knocked knees with somebody and just wasn’t able to return,” Budenholzer said about Antetokounmpo after the game. - Antetokounmpo signaled to Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer to take a timeout with 1:13 remaining in the first quarter.

A team spokesperson said Antetokounmpo "knocked knees" with a Heat player, which Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer confirmed during his postgame press ...

As a result of the wrist injury, Antetokounmpo sat out of the Skills Challenge on All-Star Saturday Night and played just 20 seconds in the All-Star Game on Sunday. He was asking for the timeout, so we had to call the timeout... However, Budenholzer acknowledged during his pre-game press conference that Antetokounmpo was "certainly not gonna be 100 percent." He started walking off the floor as play was going on and the Bucks called a timeout to get him out of the game. [Jevon Carter](/nba/players/2153082/jevon-carter/) and immediately signaled to the bench. Despite Antetokounmpo playing just six minutes, the Bucks cruised to a 13th consecutive win, which is now the longest winning streak in the league this season.