CHARLOTTE - Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is out for Saturday's matchup against the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center due to right knee soreness.
While the missed game marks his second in just over a month with the same injury designation, Antetokounmpo says he doesn't have any apprehensions about the long-term health of his knee.
“Oh no, I’m definitely not worried," he said. "Just got to be a little bit cautious about it. That’s what my team wants me to do. I think that’s the best decision for my knee. Just got to be careful because at the end of the day we’re a really good team and we want to make the playoffs; we want to go deep in the playoffs. Personally and the team, we don’t want anything happening right now to my knee that’s going to affect the team in the long run.”
With Antetokounmpo out, the Bucks will go with a starting lineup of Eric Bledsoe, Matthew Dellavedova, Tony Snell, Khris Middleton and John Henson. Antetokounmpo played 36 1/2 minutes on Friday in the first matchup between these two teams, scoring 26 points, grabbing seven rebounds and dishing five assists in a 109-104 Bucks win at the Bradley Center.
This is the second time Antetokounmpo has missed a game this season due to right knee soreness. He sat out Milwaukee's 113-107 overtime win over the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 22.
“We played without him ... and guys have rallied," Kidd said. "It’s the next guy up and that means more minutes for those guys on the bench.”
Over his 29 appearances this season, Antetokounmpo's logged a league-leading 38.0 minutes per game, though he has never voiced any issue with his playing time. In fact, he was asked about his high minutes load after Friday's and mentioned that he always wants to play more, joking he'd play 48 minutes if allowed.
Kidd, like Antetokounmpo, doesn't have any long-term concerns.
“No concerns," Kidd said. "He’s going to be sore; he’s playing at a very high level.”
Charlotte's Kemba Walker (head) and Dwight Howard (dislocated finger) are both game-time decisions for Saturday's game. Treveon Graham, who did not play on Friday in Milwaukee, is expected to be back in action for Charlotte.
“It’s going to be an energy type game," Kidd said. "Both teams got in last night, so it’s about will and effort and making plays. Hopefully, we’re the team that can do that tonight.”