Bucks
Milwaukee expects to have Giannis Antetokounmpo back in uniform Saturday against the Chicago Bulls, according to The Athletic’s Eric Nehm. Final clearance will hinge on the team’s medical staff after pre-game testing.
The two-time MVP has missed eight games since straining his right calf in the first quarter of a Dec. 3 matchup with Detroit. The Bucks won that contest but have gone 2-6 without him, scoring 105 points or fewer in five of those defeats.
Antetokounmpo has been gradually increasing activity, most recently participating in a full-contact three-on-three session following Tuesday’s shootaround. Before the injury, he averaged 28.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists in just over 29 minutes per game while shooting a career-best 63.9 percent. Milwaukee is 10-7 when he plays and 12-19 overall, placing 11th in the Eastern Conference.
“I’m still locked in,” Antetokounmpo said earlier this month. “Locked in on my teammates. Most importantly, locked in on me getting back healthy.”
Pistons
Detroit absorbed its seventh loss of the season Friday, falling 131-129 to Utah after surrendering 44 third-quarter points. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff cited lapses on the defensive end.
“Discipline. Execution. Commitment to who we are,” Bickerstaff said, per The Athletic’s Hunter Patterson. “Forty-four points in a quarter is unacceptable.”
Guard Cade Cunningham echoed the frustration. “This isn’t the level that we should be playing at,” he told reporters, via Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. “We know we’re better than this. It’s in our standard.”
Cavaliers
Offensive rebounds cost Cleveland on Christmas Day when the Cavaliers wasted a 17-point lead at Madison Square Garden against New York. Multiple late second-chance opportunities, including a decisive tip-in by Karl-Anthony Towns, sealed the loss.
“I think it starts with mentality,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said, per The Athletic’s Joe Vardon. “It’s not physicality to me. It’s like, Are you focused? Are you seeing your man? Are you going to crash? Are you gonna get a hit first?”
For a club aiming to reestablish itself among the East’s contenders, attention to those details remains a priority.
Source: Hoops Wire
