* Tonight on ESPN: Game 3, Bucks vs. Celtics (8 ET)
The slim hopes the Milwaukee Bucks had of seeing guard Malcolm Brogdon back in the lineup for Game 3 against the Boston Celtics have been dashed.
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters today that Brogdon has not been cleared for tonight and that forward Nikola Mirotic — who started Game 2 of the series — will start again tonight.
Bud confirmed Malcolm Brogdon is out tonight. No setbacks, just not cleared to return. Also said he will stick with the starting lineup from Game 2, which included Nikola Mirotic.
— Matt Velazquez (@Matt_Velazquez) May 3, 2019
Budenholzer said Brogdon is OUT for Game 3 and will be assessed over the next few days. He's had no setbacks. Mirotic will start. #Bucks #Celtics
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) May 3, 2019
The Bucks, who are tied 1-1 in their Eastern Conference semifinal with the Celtics, had planned to reevaluate Brogdon after he missed the first two games of this series. Budenholzer said Thursday the team was assessing Brogdon’s status, but even then, the chances of him playing sounded slim.
The good news for Bucks fans, though, is that there have been no setbacks in Brogdon’s rehab work.
“His status is still the same,” Budenholzer told reporters on Thursday. “We’re still kind of evaluating him, assessing how he does from today. Scrimmaging some yesterday.
Brogdon was on the court at the Bucks’ practice facility on Thursday, getting up some 3-pointers as members of the basketball support staff acted as defenders. After his on-court work, he went back to the team weight room and could be seen hitting a speed bag.
"Malcolm has made a lot of progress… We're just excited to get him back." #FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/205TVJNk2D
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) May 2, 2019
“I think he’s in a good place,” Budenholzer said Thursday. “I think he continues to make progress. He continues to kind of move forward. We’ll see how today goes. See how he’s feeling and we’ll update (Friday).”
Brogdon has been sidelined since mid-March with a plantar facia tear in his right foot and was ruled out for the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals after not playing in the first round, either. He had played through the plantar fasciitis pain for weeks before the tear and, overall, had a career season in 2018-19 with averages of 15.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game in 64 games.
While Brogdon has been out, the Bucks have turned to a variety of guards to fill his role, including Sterling Brown, George Hill and Pat Connaughton.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
