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The Milwaukee Bucks are looking to repeat as NBA champions and have finally got most of their key rotation players back, but center Brook Lopez remains sidelined with a back injury. Milwaukee did add Serge Ibaka at the trade deadline as insurance on the interior, although Ibaka has lost a step and is injury prone himself. Lopez’s presence will be a huge factor in Milwaukee’s success, especially with the frontcourt depth of some of the East’s best teams.
Brook Lopez injury updates
March 13 update: Lopez will return to the court for the Bucks Monday. We’ll see what limitations he has, if any. The Bucks will get their starting center back at the perfect time, as the team still has a chance to rise in the standings with the regular season winding down. It’s important for Lopez to rediscover his form on both ends of the floor if he wants to make an impact for this team, which is once again considered to be on the shortlist of title contenders.
ESPN Sources: Three months after back surgery, Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez will return to lineup vs. the Utah Jazz on Monday (ESPN, 10 PM ET). Lopez, out since opening night, should make an impact for a defense outside of top 10 for first time under coach Mike Budenholzer.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 14, 2022
There has been no change so far in Lopez’s status, as he remains out indefinitely for the Bucks with the back injury. The only game he played was the season opener against the Nets. Lopez did have surgery on the back but the Bucks didn’t rule him out for the whole season so we’ll see if there’s any progress made on that front. If Lopez comes back for the playoffs, Milwaukee remains a great play at +330 to win the East and +750 to win the title, per DraftKings Sportsbook.