The Milwaukee Bucks' season went from bad to worse after their 102-100 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday as star Giannis Antetokounmpo went down with yet another calf injury and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. 

This is the second time this season that Antetokounmpo has injured his calf, missing close to the entire month of December with a Grade 2 sprain. 

The Bucks were lost without Antetokounmpo last time, and this injury bodes even worse for both the team and their 10-time All-Star. 

But, what stood out more than anything in the game where Antetokounmpo went down was the way that he fought until the very end. He described playing until he ultimately couldn't walk anymore and had to leave the game early, even running on his heels instead of toes for most of the game because of the discomfort in his calf. 

Despite the growing pain and risk of injury, Antetokounmpo fought until the very end and was an instrumental part of what came very close to being a comeback victory for Milwaukee. 

Antetokounmpo finished the game with 19 points in 31 minutes along with 14 rebounds and seven assists and even robbed of his usual explosiveness by his calf injury, he was the Bucks' leading scorer and an impactful player on both ends of the court. 

That effort may have not been for naught after the Bucks lost the game and it could have played a role in worsening his calf problem, but it also made an impression on his teammates and showed that he cares even in a disappointing season that has been troubled by the potential that Antetokounmpo could be traded away at the deadline. 

"He just kept being aggressive, kept being himself," Ryan Rollins said of Antetokounmpo's effort (via Bucks). "Just getting downhill, putting pressure on the rim. Being a force in the paint he always is."

Rollins went on to praise Antetokounmpo's toughness and added that the Bucks star would be in his prayers, but now looking at a month or more without Antetokounmpo leads to a serious reckoning for the Bucks organization, assuming that Antetokounmpo will still even be wearing a Bucks jersey when time he's healthy again. 

Rollins in many ways is the bright spot of the Bucks' future. In his fourth year in the NBA and his second with the Bucks, Rollins has found a reliable role as a starter in the majority of the games he's played in this season and he's averaging a healthy 16.1 points per game. 

The end of the Giannis era in Milwaukee may very well be approaching and it could serve the Bucks to enter full rebuild mode, centered around young players like Rollins as the team plots it's recovery in what is overall a very vulnerable Eastern Conference.