UPDATE 6:00 pm ET: Eric Bledsoe (hamstring) will play, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. Bledsoe was going through “hamstring awareness” over the weekend to keep him out for Game 1, and he only did 15 minutes of work on Tuesday. He will likely start and may have some minutes limits on him. Both him and George Hill are risky plays.
Welcome to the second edition of Eric Bledsoe hamstring watch. Just like on Monday, that’s the only issue we’ll have to monitor. Let’s go over what we know in order.
We found out over the weekend Bledsoe was questionable for Game 1. On Monday, he was a game-time call, and the first bit of news we got was that he wasn’t listed as a starter with George Hill in his place. Bledsoe wasn’t officially ruled out by the team until 6:43 for the 6:30 start.
During the broadcast, we heard the words “hamstring” and “awareness” put together describing how the Bucks were approaching Bledsoe’s hammy after some tightness. He was on the bench with a mask on while watching Goran Dragic shred Milwaukee’s defense.
On Monday, coach Mike Budenholzer said Bledsoe went through 15 minutes of basketball work, but he wouldn’t give any more detail on availability. The Bucks have been shady on injuries for years, and we’re probably not going to find out his status again until around 6:15 ET. He is listed as questionable and we’re expecting him to be a game-time call.
George Hill got the start on Monday and was awful, scoring eight points with four dimes in 36 minutes. With how the Heat defended Giannis Antetokounmpo, I’d expect Hill to get more shots to help prevent so much over-helping (assuming no Bledsoe). We saw Frank Mason check in before Donte DiVincenzo, but Mason only had two minutes to Donte’s 14.
Miami Heat vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 6:30 pm ET
Gabe Vincent (shoulder) is questionable and Chris Silva (pubic bone) is out.
Eric Bledsoe (hamstring) is questionable.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets, 9:00 pm ET
There are no injuries for either team.
Russell Westbrook may have a soft minutes limit in the 30-32 range today, but do the Rockets even want him playing that much? He looks rusty.
