Milwaukee Bucks’ latest injury report update reveals the availability of veteran center Brook Lopez ahead of clash versus Suns.
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The reigning champions suffered a setback early in the season when Brook Lopez was out with a back soreness injury. The 33-year-old played 28 minutes in the season opener and has been out ever since. The big man even had surgery a few months ago.
At that point, no timeline was provided for his return, but head coach Mike Budenholzer’s comments that he believed Lopez “will play again this year” were not encouraging.
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer on a zoom call from LA says the team continues to receive positive news about Brook Lopez’s recovery from back surgery.
Budenholzer says he remains hopeful Lopez will play in some regular season games
— Jamal Collier (@JamalCollier) February 9, 2022
Just recently, the Milwaukee Bucks beat out fellow championship contenders Chicago Bulls with a 118-112 win. That in itself should have made Bucks fans’ day. However, they were blessed with a positive injury update for their big man.
So, that being said, will Brook Lopez play against Phoenix Suns? Read on and find out…
Brook Lopez is ‘out’ for game against the Phoenix Suns.
According to the latest injury report, Brook Lopez is ‘out’ and will miss out against the Suns, a repeat of last year’s final matchup. In fact, the veteran big man has missed all but one game this season for the reigning champions.
Bucks injury report for Sunday’s game against the Suns
OUT:
Pat Connaughton (right finger surgery)
George Hill (neck soreness)
Brook Lopez (back surgery)
Wesley Matthews (left hamstring soreness)— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) March 5, 2022
However, he may return sooner than expected for the Bucks. As per the latest report, Brook Lopez has been given the clearance to be a full participant in practice and will start doing five-on-five work in the coming days. Moreover, he was seen warming up at the latest Milwaukee game.
Budenholzer: “Brook is going to start contact and 5-on-5 scrimmaging, which really doesn’t happen much this time of year and so he hadn’t had any of that yet. So he will now start having some scrimmage and contact and we’ll organize that. It’s another good positive step for him.”
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) March 4, 2022
#Bucks center Brook Lopez is on the court warming up before tonight’s game against the #Bulls. He is still OUT today, but another step closer. pic.twitter.com/LzLVcUH0d3
— Scott Grodsky (@ScottGrodsky) March 5, 2022
The only silver lining in Lopez’s absence is the emergence of big man Bobby Portis. The backup is averaging career-highs of 15.6 points, 9.1 rebounds per game this season. Portis is playing an excellent role, as a floor spacer for Giannis Antetokounmpo, leaving the paint wide open for the Greek Freak to dominate.
Despite Lopez’s absence, Milwaukee Bucks enter the game against the Suns as favourites, as they are without Chris Paul and Devin Booker. There’s no rush to bring the veteran big man back into the mix, as his backups are doing so well.
Moreover, a healthy, well-rested Brook Lopez will make the Bucks an unstoppable force once the playoffs begin.
