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The Milwaukee Bucks have been plagued by injuries early in the 2021-22 NBA season. The reigning champions possess an underwhelming 3-4 record after seven total games played, having dropped their last three matches.
Their losses have come against the Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz. Meanwhile, they registered victories over the Brooklyn Nets, San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers.
The Bucks' opening-night victory over the Nets was easily their best performance. They have since lost multiple players to injuries.
After playing 18 minutes against the Brooklyn Nets, Jrue Holiday went down with a left ankle injury and has not returned since. Brook Lopez has also not appeared since opening night. He has been sidelined with a back injury, and there is no timeline for his return.
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Khris Middleton is battling a sickness, causing him to miss the Milwaukee Bucks' previous game versus the Utah Jazz. On top of all that, Donte DiVincenzo has still not made his season debut since getting ankle surgery.
Due to these injuries, the Bucks have been forced to roll out five different starting lineups in seven games. To say injuries have impacted the team early in the 2021-22 season would be an understatement.
On that note, here are three ways in which injuries have impacted the Milwaukee Bucks early in the 2021-22 NBA season.
#3 - Giannis Antetokounmpo has do it all for the Milwaukee Bucks
Giannis Antetokounmpo is a generational NBA talent. This fact is evident by his treasure chest of accolades, which includes multiple MVPs, DPOYs, All-NBA selections, and an NBA championship.
In today's day and age, no player can lead a team to victories on their own. Most top-tier NBA teams have multiple All-Star level talents on their roster to relieve their primary star when needed. The Milwaukee Bucks have that in Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton, at least when they are available.
Giannis Antetokounmpo currently leads the Milwaukee Bucks in minutes played (32.0), points (27.3), rebounds (11.1), and assists (6.0) on a per-game basis. He has tallied the most points, rebounds and assists in four of the Bucks' seven games so far this season. He was outscored by a teammate only once during this period.
With starting center Lopez sidelined after one game this season, head coach Mike Budenholzer has opted to start Giannis in that position.
Fortunately, if there is any player that can handle a ridiculous amount of responsibility on both ends of the floor, it's Giannis Antetokounmpo. With injuries to the Milwaukee Bucks' other starters, the former MVP cannot afford to have an off-night.
#2 - Defensive struggles
In the previous campaign, the Milwaukee Bucks recorded the ninth-best defensive rating in the NBA. However, their early injuries this season have dropped them to 21st in defensive rating after seven games.
The Milwaukee Bucks allowed the Miami Heat to score 137 total points in their second game this season. The Bucks are yet to hold a team to less than 100 points in the current campaign, with injuries having significantly impacted their performances.
Jrue Holiday is a three-time All-Defensive player. Brook Lopez made the All-Defensive team on one occasion in 2019-20 but has been the Milwaukee Bucks' defensive anchor and shot blocker for years now. Donte DiVincenzo, if he returns to form, has the potential to make an All-Defensive team in the future. Meanwhile, Khris Middleton's defensive impact is simply underrated.
Unfortunately, the replacements for these players are not exactly stellar defenders. Grayson Allen, George Hill, Jordan Nwora, Justin Robinson, Rodney Hood and Sandro Mamukelashvili will all have to step up defensively in the absence of their superstar teammates.
#1 - Reliance on young and inexperienced talent
The Milwaukee Bucks' unfortunate injury luck has forced them to rely on their young talent in a way that no team with championship aspirations should.
Sandro Mamukelashvili, the 54th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, has recorded more than five minutes in four of the Milwaukee Bucks' seven games, including one night of 27 total minutes. The Bucks were likely not expecting to need contributions from him this early in his NBA career.
Aside from Giannis Antetokounmpo, Grayson Allen, who is still carving out his role in the team, is the only Milwaukee Bucks player to have started every game this season. Allen is currently fourth in the Bucks' total minutes played this year.
Jordan Nwora, the 45th pick in last year's draft, recorded 274 total minutes last season. With seven games on the books this year, he has seen 158 minutes of playing time.
Giannis' brother, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, has started on three occasions, which already equals the number of starts he saw in 2020-21.
Prior to this campaign, undrafted 6'1" guard Justin Robinson had only participated in 18 NBA games (throughout his first two seasons). The Milwaukee Bucks have played Robinson in each of their games this season.
Needless to say, the Bucks will continue to struggle until at least two of Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez, Khris Middleton and Donte DiVincenzo return to the floor.
Also check out: What is Giannis Antetokounmpo Contract Breakdown?
