Bucks Make Decision on Giannis Antetokounmpo vs Pistons After Pulling Him

The Milwaukee Bucks have made a final determination on the fate of their best player, nine-time All-Star power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, against the Detroit Pistons for a Friday clash — the first of two matchups between the two East contenders to close out the season.

The 6-foot-11 big man, 30, was pulled in the third quarter of a 136-111 blowout win against the very injured New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night, along with fellow vets Brook Lopez, Kyle Kuzma, and Gary Trent Jr.

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After the game, Eric Nehm of The Athletic revealed that head coach Doc Rivers sent these core vets to the locker room to prepare for the impending Pistons contests.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was sent to the locker room early to get a head-start on the trip to Detroit last night.

“You want to finish what you started…but then as a leader, try to be smart. I know we have two playoff games in front of us.”

At @TheAthletic: https://t.co/24dDw5vYVE
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) April 11, 2025

“My first instinct is I want to finish the game, but then as a leader, try to be smart," Antetokounmpo said of his reaction. "I know that we have two playoff (type) games in front of us, so I just gotta make a smart decision and put myself in a situation to help my team compete. It’s weird. It’s weird. I’ve never done it before.”

These matchups with Detroit will indeed be, essentially, play-in tournament games before the play-in tournament. Both clubs will get to skip the play-in tournament this season, and are locked into the Nos. 5 and 6 seeds in the Eastern Conference. But who gets which seed will be determined by these two games.

Milwaukee, at 46-34, enjoys a comfortable two-game advantage over the 44-36 Pistons. Right now, the Bucks enjoy a 2-0 advantage in their season series, which is the first tiebreaker should teams finish with identical records. Only if Detroit wins both games would this be even a problem. Both the Bucks and Pistons have 29-21 inter-conference records, the next tiebreaker.

So long as the Bucks claim at least one of these contests, they will nab the East's No. 5 seed and knock Detroit to the conference's sixth seed. If Detroit wins both games, it will earn the No. 5 seed, by benefit of enjoying the superior inter-conference record.

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On Friday morning, Nehm reported that Antetokounmpo was probable to play through a left shoulder tendinopathy.

Bucks injury report vs. Detroit on Friday:

Out:
Damian Lillard (Right Calf Deep Vein Thrombosis)
Jericho Sims (Right Thumb UCL Sprain)

Doubtful:
Tyler Smith (Right Ankle Sprain)

Probable:
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Left Shoulder Tendinopathy)
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) April 11, 2025