Sports Weekly all-media reporter Li Hui
After the return of Holliday and Middleton, the Bucks ushered in a wave of 8 consecutive wins, in fact, this season, when the trio of Alphabet Brother, Holliday and Middleton can play at the same time, the Bucks have never lost a game, as the defending champions, they continue to show their strong strength.
However, injuries have become the biggest enemy of the Bucks this season, except for the season's opener, they can not maintain a complete lineup to play, and even many times they have more than one important player missing, and after 8 consecutive wins, the injury once again made the Bucks have to stop, playing against the Raptors, alphabet brother was absent because of the calf injury, and finally the Bucks also regretted ending the winning streak on the road.
And today, the Bucks officially announced that the alphabet brother will continue to miss the team's game with the Heat tomorrow because of the sore calf, after the Bucks coach Budenholzer said in an interview that they will continue to observe the situation of the alphabet brother in the next few days, and it is clear that the bucks will treat the injury of the alphabet brother in the most secure way.
The absence of the alphabet brother will undoubtedly continue to have an impact on the bucks' next performance, but also will have an impact on the alphabet brother himself to compete for MVP, after the previous 8 consecutive wins, the alphabet brother has undoubtedly entered the discussion of the MVP, in the latest issue of the MVP list released by the league, the alphabet brother ranked third, second only to curry and Durant, who have performed hot so far in the season, but this injury will not only affect the attendance of the alphabet brother, but also affect the performance of the Bucks, so far this season, The Bucks have only finished with 14 wins and 9 losses, which is not a small gap compared to the Nets and Warriors.
Of course, the injury of the alphabet brother will not let the Bucks worry too much, after all, his injury does not look too serious, but the injury of the team's main center Brooke López will undoubtedly make the Bucks feel a headache, as one of the heroes who won the championship last season, Lopez only played in the opener and the Nets, and then continued to be absent because of the back injury, and on Thursday, the Bucks announced that López has undergone back surgery, when to return is still unknown, Budenholzer also said, López doesn't have a specific comeback time, but he doesn't think López has been reimbursed for the season.
However, from the perspective of similar surgeries in the NBA, such as the previous Nuggets youngster Michael Porter Jr., undergoing back surgery often means a full season of recovery time, so it is no exaggeration to say that Perhaps López's 2021-2022 season has ended early, at least it is difficult for him to return to the team before the end of the regular season, and even if he returns, López's state will be greatly affected.
Once Lopez is on a long suspension or even misses the playoffs, then this is undoubtedly a huge blow to the Bucks, López although the data in the team is not prominent, he still plays a very important role in the team system, as an interior lineman, López has a stable ability to open up space, and he also has this excellent blocking ability, the only game of the season, López sent 3 blocks, Throughout his career, he can average 1.8 blocks per game, and his presence can allow Alphabet Brother to reduce the pressure on the defensive end and also gain more space on the offensive end, and now Alphabet Brother has to play longer in the No. 5 position a lot of times, which undoubtedly increases his physical burden.
Coupled with Di Vincenzo, who has not yet recovered from injury, the Bucks' road to defending the title this season is accompanied by injuries, in the face of such a situation, the Bucks are also constantly adding players in the free market, after the Bucks signed the former first center DeMarcus Cousins, in the first game for the team, Cousins got a good number of 7 points and 4 rebounds, and shot a three-point shot on the outside, obviously the Bucks hope that Cousins can play the role of Lopez, However, in the case of many injuries in his career, the current Cousins can adapt to continuous high-intensity games will be a big question mark, after the debut, he missed the team's second game, the official reason is that he needs to recover physical condition.
And today, the Bucks have completed the lineup supplement, they signed the 35-year-old veteran Wesley Matthews, Matthews played for the Lakers last season, averaging 4.8 points and 1.6 rebounds per game, shooting 33.5% from three-point range, for the Bucks, they signed Matthews in large part because he is familiar with the System of Budenholzer, in the 19-20 season, Matthews played for the Bucks. He averaged 7.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game that season, helping the Bucks to finish first in the East in the regular season, and after signing Matthews, Bucks general manager Jon Horst said, "He's a proven veteran, his shooting defense and experience will help us, he's familiar with our system and our team, and we're excited to be back and play with us." ”
The arrival of the two veterans will undoubtedly alleviate Budenholzer's employment problems, but it is certain that this season's regular season will not be easy for the Bucks.
Source: Li Hui, all-media reporter of Sports Weekly