On the first night of the NBA season, the Milwaukee Bucks are dealing with an injury to a key player.
During the second quarter of Tuesday’s night game against the Brooklyn Nets, the Bucks announced that Jrue Holiday had suffered a heel contusion and would not return to the game. It’s not clear when Holiday suffered the injury during the game as of now. Before leaving the game, Holiday played 18 minutes, scoring 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting to go with one assist and one steal.
Injury Update:
Jrue Holiday – right heel contusion – will not return tonight
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) October 20, 2021
It’s also not clear how severe the injury is. It’s possible that the Bucks are just being cautious with Holiday since it’s the opening night of a new season and the team is going to be playing the long game with an eye on repeating champions. But depending on the severity of the injury, it could mean that Holiday has to miss some time, forcing the Bucks to deal with injury issues right out of the gate.
With Holiday out, George Hill would presumably slide to point guard, while Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton are more than capable of handling the ball and initiating the offense. Where the Bucks will really miss Holiday is on defense, as he’s one of the league’s best perimeter defenders and a key to their system.
