The regular season is reaching its twilight and, with that, the playoff race is heating up. The Milwaukee Bucks are among the teams competing for a place in post-season basketball. Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee holds a precious 5th seed in the Eastern Conference boasting a 39-30 record. They are just one game behind Indiana who hold the 4th seed. The Bucks are eyeing that spot to get the coveted home-court advantage in the first round of playoffs.

Well, to achieve that they need to keep winning games and they have a great chance to do so tonight when they enter the Golden 1 Arena in Sacramento to face the Kings. The Bucks will be playing this game after a blow-out win against a short-handed Lakers team. They were led by their Greek superstar Giannis, who dropped 28 points and Gary Trent Jr. chipped in another 23 points. While the Lakers were short-handed, Milwaukee also missed Damian Lillard. The Bucks star was out from the game and Antetokounmpo also wasn’t fully fit. So, will these two stars suit up tonight?

Milwaukee Bucks injury report ahead of their clash with the Sacramento Kings

The Bucks bounced back on Thursday against LA after suffering back-to-back defeats. So, they will look to build upon their win tonight against Sacramento. To get the job done and snatch the homecourt advantage from the Pacers, the Bucks need to be at their full strength. This brings us to Damian Lillard, the 6-foot-2 point guard who did not play in Milwaukee’s recent win over Los Angeles. Well, the Bucks faithful are eager to know if Dame will suit up for tonight. Well, no. Damian Lillard is not playing tonight after surprisingly being ruled out.

This isn’t great news for the Bucks who are up against a solid Sacramento team hungry to win games. Lillard has been ruled out due to soreness in his right calf. The nine-time All-Star has been incredible this season after a shaky start. Dame is averaging 24.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 7.1 assists. Moreover, without the point guard on the court, the Bucks haven’t fared well this season. Milwaukee is 7-4 without Damian Lillard with a majority of wins coming over lowly opponents. Nonetheless, they’ll hope the injury is nothing to worry about with the playoffs approaching. However, the Bucks could’ve held their ground without Lillard, but there’s more to worry about.

Milwaukee’s franchise player Giannis Antetokounmpo is also on the injury report. This is a concerning news for the Bucks. The Greek Freak is listed as questionable due to a knee injury. So, there’s a big question mark on his availability for tonight. Needless to say, Giannis has been spectacular for Milwaukee yet again this season. He’s in the MVP race averaging 30.2 points, 11.9 rebounds, and six assists. Antetokounmpo is the most important player on the team and without him, they’ll always look incomplete. Milwaukee will hope he’s fit to play, but wouldn’t want to rush or risk anything at this crucial point of the season. Is this all? Nope.

There’s more to be concerned about for the Bucks as shooting guard Gary Trent Jr. is also joining Giannis and Damian on the report. The 26-year-old is questionable for tonight’s game due to a knee injury. He’s been a pretty solid rotational player for Milwaukee scoring 10.8 points per game. So, not having him will affect the team’s rotation. Lastly, big man Jericho Sims remains out after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb. He is expected to be sidelined for at least 4 weeks. With all these injuries, you wonder, who could start tonight for the Bucks in Sacramento?

How can the Milwaukee Bucks line up amid their injury concerns?

With their starting point guard Damian Lillard out and concerns over Giannis’ fitness, the Bucks have a lot to think about tonight. Especially their HC Doc Rivers, who will have to come up with a great plan to get over the line tonight. So, Rivers will have to trust one of his young point guards, either Kevin Porter Jr. or Ryan Rollins, to assume Lillard’s role tonight. Moreover, Kyle Kuzma and Taurean Prince will have to show up tonight and lead the team in the absence of their other superstars.

So, here’s how the Bucks could lineup:

Overall, this could be a close game. That’s because while the Bucks are eyeing the fourth spot in the East, the Kings are in a heated play-in race and cannot afford to lose games at this point. So, expect both teams to go at each other. However, given the form and quality, Milwaukee does hold the advantage over Sacramento. More so, because the Kings are without Domantas Sabonis which is a massive blow for them. Nonetheless, it could be anyone’s game as we wait and watch who comes out on top at the Golden 1 Center tonight.