Giannis Antetokounmpo unlikely to return, Bobby Portis says

With the regular season winding down, there’s still some uncertainty surrounding the Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo’s potential return from a left knee hyperextension and bone bruise.

Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said Sunday that the star forward could still be cleared before April 12, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic.

Still, teammate Bobby Portis doesn’t expect that to happen. Speaking on FanDuel TV (Facebook video link), the veteran big man questioned the logic of bringing Antetokounmpo back with Milwaukee already eliminated from playoff contention.

“I don’t think he’ll play another game this year, for sure,” Portis said (hat tip to Nehm). “Obviously, he’ll stay in the gym and keep his body tight and keep his game tight. But playing a game on court, I don’t think that’s in the picture at all.”

Earlier this month, reports suggested the Bucks were considering shutting Antetokounmpo down for the season, while the two-time MVP was pushing to return.

Portis said he understands why the team would lean toward caution, given both performance and business considerations.

“If y’all talking about trading him, you don’t want any injury to knock value off or whatever,” Portis said. “That’s just business-wise, and then player-wise, obviously, you gotta look at just the total picture of what’s going on. We’re (9.5) games behind for the 10th seed and (with eight) games left, we can’t even make up ground.”

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