The Milwaukee Bucks added some floor spacing and scoring off the bench when they acquired then-Pelicans forward Nikola Mirotic at the NBA trade deadline. Mirotic has provided exactly that in 14 games in his new digs, but now, the Bucks will have to close out the season with the Montenegro native on the sidelines.
According to Shams Charnia of The Athletic, Mirotic suffered a fracture in his left thumb, an injury that is expected to keep him out at least 2-4 weeks.
Bucks forward Nikola Mirotic has suffered a slight fracture of his left thumb and will miss at least two-to-four weeks, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 20, 2019
Describing it as a slight fracture and putting a relatively short timetable on a return is decent news for the Bucks, which have already clinched a spot in the postseason and are three games up on the Toronto Raptors for the best record in the league. The timing of the injury is still rough, both because the postseason starts in three and a half weeks and because it comes a few days after it was announced starting guard Malcolm Brogdon would miss 6-8 weeks due to a foot injury.
Bucks with an extensive injury report today.
Giannis (right ankle sprain) – QUESTIONABLE
Brogdon (right foot) – OUT
Brown (right wrist) – OUT
DiVincenzo (right heel) – OUT
Gasol (left ankle soreness) – OUT
Hill (sore left groin) – OUT
Ilyasova (illness) – PROBABLE
And this 👇 https://t.co/gWH36bRuDU— Matt Velazquez (@Matt_Velazquez) March 20, 2019
As long as Milwaukee has Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, it should be able to navigate the remainder of the regular season and perhaps the first round of the playoffs relatively unscathed, although having a homecourt advantage throughout the postseason would obviously be ideal. Still, getting Mirotic healthy and back on the floor soon will be a huge boost, as he’s averaged 11.6 points and 5.4 rebounds in 22.9 minutes per game for the Bucks while knocking down 35.6 percent of his threes.
