John Henson to have wrist surgery, Donte DiVincenzo to miss at least three games

Matt Velazquez | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Milwaukee Bucks center John Henson has a torn ligament in his left wrist and rookie guard Donte DiVincenzo has a minor left quadriceps strain, the team announced Friday.

Henson's injury is the more severe of the two and will require surgery. When that surgery will take place has yet to be determined, but he could miss around 12 weeks and be sidelined until after the all-star break, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.

"It's hard," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said prior to Friday's game. "I think it would be not recognizing how well (Henson) has played, how much he has given us on the court to say that it's not hard. ...

"I think he can still be a presence in the locker room. He does get along with everybody. He has an IQ and I think he'll be in guys' ears."

Over the first 14 games of the season, Henson had totally reshaped his game and was offering the Bucks a steady lift off the bench. In that time, he averaged 5.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in just 13.4 minutes per game. Additionally, Henson had stretched out his game, going 11 of 31 on three-pointers (35.5%) after going just 1 of 13 on three-pointers in his previous six seasons combined.

Henson's injury occurred during Milwaukee's game in Portland against the Trail Blazers, though he was able to continue playing both during the team's road trip and when the Bucks returned to Fiserv Forum on Wednesday night. Against Memphis, Henson experienced additional discomfort and played a season-low 5 1/2 minutes in the loss.

On Thursday, Henson was evaluated by Bucks orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Carole Vetter of the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin health network and that evaluation both served to diagnose the injury and confirm the need for surgery.

DiVincenzo's injury has also been of the nagging variety. He experienced pain in his left leg at times during the Bucks' West Coast swing, but his level of discomfort was not so severe that it caused him to miss any games. Like Henson, DiVincenzo experienced additional pain on Wednesday and after exiting in the second quarter he was ruled out for the rest of the contest. He did not practice Thursday.

DiVincenzo will miss Milwaukee's next three games – Friday against the Chicago Bulls, Monday against the Denver Nuggets and Wednesday against the Portland Trail Blazers – before being re-evaluated.

Center Thon Maker and guard Pat Connaughton are likely to move up in Milwaukee's rotation. Those two players got an extra dose of playing time Wednesday and made a major impact as part of a five-man unit that turned a 15-point deficit into an eight-point lead in 5 1/2 minutes.

"We’re a very talented team," Maker said Thursday. "It’s crazy to think I was the 10th pick (in the 2016 draft) and I’m the highest pick on this team right now and you can tell how talented the team is. Everybody is talented from 1 to 17. We’re going to use every single piece we have, but I just got to stay ready.”