Superstars face race against time as NBA Play-Off drama continues into Game Two

19 April 2023 , 17:33

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Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a back injury against the Miami Heat and his status for the next game is unknown (Image: Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

Two of the NBA 's biggest superstars are facing a race against time to be fit for their respective team’s next Play-Off games on Wednesday night.

Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a lower back contusion during the Milwaukee Bucks ’ defeat to the Miami Heat in their opening game, while Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant suffered a hand injury during his side’s loss to the LA Lakers.

As Antetokounmpo continues to recover, the 2021 NBA champion has sat out practice, but coach Mike Budenholzer said the team was still feeling optimistic about the two-time MVP's ability to play.

"We have 24-plus hours before game time. He'll get treatment, we'll see how he feels. There's been a lot of progress and hopefully there's more in the next day or so. There's an optimism. Time is a little bit on our side, but that equation will flip. But yeah, I would say we're optimistic."

Early in the opening quarter at the Fiserv Forum against the Miami Heat on Sunday the “Greek Freak’ picked up the ball and heaed for the basket, on the way he collided with Kevin Love which ended with Antetokounmpo hitting the ground hard. He got up to take the two free throws for the foul called but left for the locker room soon after.

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Morant has already been confirmed by the Grizzlies as a game time decision following an MRI scan on Monday which revealed an aggravation of the soft tissue bruising in his hand originally suffered in March.

"He's progressing," said coach Taylor Jenkins. "He's dribbling and shooting as much as he can. As I said, he's got some pain he's dealing with, so it's kind of a tolerance thing. He's got some stiffness in his hand that he's kind of slowly getting through. We'll see how he wakes up."

Ja Morant went down with a hand injury against the LA Lakers and did not return to the game (Justin Ford/Getty Images)

The second-seeded Grizzlies have their hands full with a surging Lakers and in Sunday's opening game, Morant hit the deck after his attempted dunk saw him collide with Anthony Davis and as he put out his arm he feel awkwardly and immediately left the court.

After returning to the bench his teammates could only look as the Lakers blistering run to close out the game saw them take the lead in the series. The hope for Memphis is that Morant can play before the first round match-up heads to Los Angeles for Games Three and Four.

Liam Llewellyn