Giannis Antetokounmpo continues his detention when it comes to minutes played per game but against the Miami Heat, Doc Rivers played his 55 seconds more.
The Greek Freak returned from a long lay off due to a left calf strain and to manage better his recovery, he was put under minutes restriction – 23 minutes to be exact.
They did just that in win against the Los Angeles Clippers and then he only played 19 minutes in the second night of a back-to-back against the Washington Wizards. The latter may be because of his foul trouble.
His minutes were raised against the Heat as he played a total of 31 minutes and 55 seconds. His season average on mpg is 34.2.
Antetokounmpo’s increased minutes may be out of necessity as the Bucks trailed Heat most of the game and they only got the lead in them middle of the fourth quarter.
Increased playing time resulted to increased production for Giannis. He has the highest efficiency in the game with 16+. He scored 23 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, and had seven assists.
Giannis Antetokounmpo wants to go 36 minutes per game
Rivers trusted that Antetokounmpo will remain healthy despite going beyond the advised minutes per game.
The Greek Freak is not contented though. He said if Rivers really trust him, he should allow him to spend more minutes on the floor.
That is just him trolling his coach. Antetokounmpo insists he is taking things slow so that he will stay healthy for them come playoff time.
“He couldn’t get me out, that’s why,” he told Bucks reporter Eric Nehm when asked about his playing time.
“But yeah, hopefully moving forward, I don’t like playing with minutes restruction. I don’t know how long this is going to go for, but hopefully, I can get back to playing my regular minutes and my regular rotation so I can get my rhythm back.”
Antetokounmpo has been obsessed about being healthy this season.
Just recently, he said he needs to be smart about his wellness, taking a page from what happened to him in the 2024 playoffs.
I would guess so.
Here is what Giannis Antetokounmpo said on Friday night when I asked him about his minutes restriction in the first two games
