Antetokounmpo, Herro updates. And Barkley’s assertion on Heat
Milwaukee star forward and MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo was listed as questionable for Game 3 of the Bucks’ playoff series against the Heat on Saturday at Kaseya Center in downtown Miami.
Antetokounmpo left after playing 11 minutes in the Heat’s Game 1 win because of a lower back contusion. He did not play in the Bucks’ 138-122 win in Game 2.
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters that Antetokounmpo was able to do some individual work before Friday’s practice but was unable to participate in team drills.
After saying he was optimistic that Antetokounmpo would play in Game 2, Budenholzer declined to make a prognosis for Game 3.
“We’re just going to monitor him the rest of the day today,” Budenholzer said Friday. “We’ll monitor him tomorrow and see where he is and together with him make decisions.”
Antetokounmpo averaged 31.1 points, 11.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists this season.
“If GA doesn’t play, they do want to scramble more and try to take advantage of the three-point line,” Erik Spoelstra said Friday. “So your work has to be done early. You have to be very intentional, with your close-outs getting to three-point shooters. You can’t just always get broken down off the dribble. And they do a good job with the drive-and-kick game.
“That’s now, I guess, in the three games that he hasn’t played against us, all those games they’ve shot over 50 threes. We just have to do a much better job in that area.”
In the six games between the teams this season, the Heat has been outscored by three points during all the minutes when Antetokounmpo is not on the floor. He has missed three of the six games (all since Jan. 12) and been limited to six minutes and 11 minutes in two of the other games.
Per Elias, the Bucks’ 138 points in Game 2 marked the most points than an NBA team had ever scored when playing without its leading scorer.
Meanwhile, the Heat listed Kyle Lowry as questionable with knee soreness, which has been a customary designation for him in recent weeks.
Rookie Nikola Jovic (back) and Tyler Herro (hand) are out. No other Heat players were listed on the injury report besides those three.
Herro underwent hand surgery on Friday, and the Heat said he is expected to miss a minimum of six weeks.
The Heat said Herro “underwent successful open reduction and internal fixation surgery of the third and fourth metacarpal of his right hand. The 90-minute procedure was performed by Dr. Ann Ouelette and observed by Heat team physician Dr. Harlan Selesnick at Doctors Hospital Ambulatory Surgery Center.”
As for the Bucks, guard Wes Matthews (right calf) remains out.
BARKLEY’S VIEW
TNT’s Charles Barkley said in this particular series, the Heat losing Herro impacts Miami’s chances of winning more than the Bucks losing Antetokounmpo impacts their chances of winning.
His point was that Milwaukee can withstand its MVP candidate’s absence better than the Heat can survive Herro’s absence because of the Heat’s offensive challenges.
Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal disagreed.
▪ The sting of Tuesday’s lopsided loss was tempered by escaping Milwaukee with a split of the two games.
“Us going home one-one is really all you can ask for,” Heat forward Kevin Love said Friday. “You hope when a Giannis-caliber, MVP-caliber player is out, that you can get a win, especially on the road. The reality is we come home and it becomes a five-game series.”
As Max Strus said Friday: “We did what we were supposed to do, got one, split on the road. Now it’s important to take care of homecourt.”
▪ Adebayo said Friday that Spoelstra reassured his team after Wednesday’s loss that “there are ups and downs in any season. In a series, you’re going to have games where they hit all their shots and some where they miss all of them. We just have to prepare for the next wave and take homecourt.”
▪ Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. game will be available locally on both Bally Sports Sun (Eric Reid, John Crotty) and ESPN (Dave Pasch, Richard Jefferson).
This story was originally published April 21, 2023 at 5:36 PM.
