Report: Nikola Mirotic Will Miss Two to Four Weeks

The injury bug seems to have bitten the Milwaukee Bucks with renewed gusto lately, and it’s content to keep sucking the juice from this squad as they go through the home stretch of the regular season. Today, Bucks fans were disappointed with the news that forward Nikola Mirotic will miss two to four weeks with a slight fracture of his left thumb, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

ThreeKola exited last night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers after enduring a tough shooting foul. Despite not speaking with members of the media following the Milwaukee win, Mirotic was seen wearing a bandage on the apparently-injured appendage.

Following the news that Malcolm Brogdon would miss significant time with a foot issue, this news is yet another blow to a squad that is propelled forward by its depth, but that depth is being fully tested with 8 games remaining in the regular season. Mirotic was a part of the least-conventional solution, which is once again in front of Mike Budenholzer and his staff to recreate.

This injury thins out Milwaukee’s front court rotation behind starters Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez. Ersan Ilyasova will undoubtedly be leaned on, and hopefully D.J. Wilson gets the nod over the struggling Pau Gasol to fill in during Mirotic’s absence. The good news is that, before Mirotic arrived, the Bucks were already one of the league’s elite teams, but the downside is that Nikola will not get as much time to fully gel in the Bucks’ system before the playoffs begin.