There’s been some dark days in the history of the Milwaukee Bucks franchise, but you could make a very real argument that Wednesday was one of the darkest. The morning began with a breaking news update from ESPN’s Shams Charania and Brian Windhorst that superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was moving forward with a trade request. And it only got worse.

In the first quarter of Wednesday’s game against the Detroit Pistons, Antetokounmpo fell to the floor in a heap in a non-contact incident as he was running up the court after an inbound. Antetokounmpo’s reaction was eerily similar to the various Achilles’ tendon injuries we’ve seen inflict stars recently, but also to another calf injury that he suffered in March of 2024.

After the game, Doc Rivers provided the best update he possibly could and explained why he actually believed it wasn’t a non-contact injury as the initial video indicated.

“I didn't know what it was, so I just wanted the trainers to attend to him,” Rivers said. “Right when they brought him in, they took him to the hospital … I think we've ruled (Achilles) out, honestly. 

“I don't think it was no contact either. I thought the bump—if you watch the bump drive, that's what threw him off balance. He got bumped in, and then someone landed on top of him. So I thought the bump was what made him lose his balance. And then it looked like there was no one around, but I thought it was the bump that threw him off balance.”

Can't Find Continuity

Despite the fact that the Bucks will be without Giannis again after just getting another key player back in Kevin Porter Jr., coach Doc Rivers still likes the Bucks' chances to be a competitive team in the Eastern Conference this season if they can get healthy. Granted, that outlook will change mightily if Antetokounmpo is traded elsewhere and the Bucks continue without him.

“We haven't had (Porter Jr.) all year,” Rivers said. “Having him and Giannis out for that long stretch explains our record,’ Rivers said. “Now we're back at it. We have him back now, and we may have Giannis out. 

We’ve just got to figure out a way of winning games when all these guys are injured. And if we can get healthy, and I keep saying that, I like our team. I just do. We just can't catch a break on healthy."