Injuries Factor into Bucks Remaining Regular Season Games

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Photo via Khris Middleton - Instagram

Khris Middleton and the Bucks

Khris Middleton and the Bucks

With eight games left, the Milwaukee Bucks (47-27) have already endured an interesting season. They remain first in the Central Division, and still hold second place in the Eastern Conference heading into the playoffs. Doc Rivers’ tenure as coach, 17-14 since taking over for Adrian Griffin, has been unable to solve puzzling questions about defensive lapses.

The March 30 game against the Atlanta Hawks highlighted another problem: the injury list. Despite a 122-113 win, Damian Lillard was on the scratch list for personal reasons, with a day-to-day status. A threat on offense, his 24.4 points per game average, and 42.6% shooting average have fulfilled the reason he was brought in, this season.

Giannis Antetokounmpo poured in 36 points, with 16 rebounds, while Khris Middleton (21) and Patrick Beverly (18) added to the barrage on the Hawks, in Lillard’s absence. Jaylin Galloway was also scratched, before the game started.

Absence seems to be a trend with the Bucks players. Ankle, knee, groin, and back injuries, along with personal issues, all come under the heading of “playing the game,” the frequency is an interesting statistic. Since the season started, the loss of players has led them to fourth place overall in the NBA for being injury prone.

The statistics were compiled by a sports media betting group, Canada Sports Betting, Surely, somewhere Pete Rose is spinning in his grave. Oh, wait … 

Accident Prone?

Based on data from ESPN, the group researched the number of injuries by individual players on each NBA team. The teams with the most injuries have been dubbed, “accident-prone.” While it probably adds a skew to the betting table, the statistics are interesting in placing the Bucks as one of the top four.

They share the spot with the Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, and Toronto Raptors with “four injuries incurred from accidents.” It notes Middleton missing a game with an ankle injury.

A spokesperson from Canada Sports Betting, stated about the study, “NBA regular season games attract an average of 1.59 million viewers … making each game a huge event with high stakes.” Aside from the wagering aspects of pro sports, the data represents actual injuries from, well, injuries.

There is a difference when a player goes down in sports like baseball, football, basketball and hockey (maybe, that’s not fair) that demand physical endurance and performance. This is the territory that belongs to trainers, who have to watch for items like simple muscle pulls and make sure things will not escalate. 

A responsibility also falls to players with an emphasis to follow the regimen.

Since Oct. 28, when the season started, Bucks’ players have gone down more than 90 times at various points. One of the more serious was Jae Crowder, who opted for surgery last November, and has struggled since his return. He has suffered through an ankle injury last month, and more recently with a knee issue. 

The betting group makes the correlation that the most accident-prone players get ankle injuries, because of the nature of the sport. They also infer that having more players to come off the bench, during the playoff season, increases the chances to win. 

This is not a secret. However, Luca Hogan, from Journo Research, noted that the data was obtained from the number of “day-to-day” and “out” designations for injuries by players. Using this information and methodology to calculate the most “accident-prone” teams makes the outcome more significant statistically. Milwaukee has four so far, this season.

The Bucks are at the Fiserv Forum for the final home stand, before ending the season with two road games: Memphis Grizzlies (April 3); Toronto Raptors (April 5); New York Knicks (April 7); Boston Celtics (April 9); and Orlando Magic (April 10).