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Update: May 1, 5:30 p.m. — Giannis is being listed as probable to play Sunday vs. the Brooklyn Nets. So just as we expected, Antetokounmpo was basically being held out Friday vs. the Bulls to rest up and be 100 percent for a much larger basketball game.
Update: April 30, 5:30 p.m. — Antetokounmpo is being listed as out for Friday’s game vs. the Chicago Bulls after leaving last night due to an ankle injury. Donte DiVincenzo is also being listed as out with a toe injury. The Bucks have a crucial game against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, so Milwaukee could be resting Giannis to ensure he’s OK for that contest.
With no Giannis, the first spot for DFS is Nikola Vucevic ($10,100) for the Bulls. He’s become a pretty strong tournament play with Zach LaVine still in health and safety protocols. Vuce has at least 44 DKFP in three straight games and is seeing big minutes with the Bulls clearly making a push for the play-in tournament.
On the Bucks side, Khris Middleton ($7,900) and Jrue Holiday ($7,800) are both good overall plays. You can play them in tournaments, since Chicago may be competitive. Before this news, the spread was Bulls +1 in Chicago, which is nuts but it’s mostly because we assumed Giannis would be out. Now that that’s the case, this game has some appeal. Now DiVincenzo means we’ll see more Bryn Forbes ($3,000) at min-price.
Milwaukee Bucks All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo was forced to leave Thursday’s game vs. the Houston Rockets due to an ankle injury and did not return. Giannis was injured in the first quarter and the team didn’t want to take any chances with the reigning two-time MVP. The Bucks lead the Rockets by 12 points, 38-26, after the quarter. Again, this is likely precautionary with the Bucks likely to just roll over Houston in this game.
Giannis only played 1 minute before exiting the game. The Bucks are looking to clinch a playoff berth soon and there’s no need to try and force Antetokounmpo into the game. So really if you had Giannis in your DFS or fantasy basketball lineups tonight, it was a tough break. Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday should play plenty of minutes the rest of the way and Bobby Portis will also end up getting a ton of run at power forward.