After repeated pulling and torment, Giannis got injured.

To some extent, Giannis's last-minute retreat in the players' tunnel today showed how he was feeling at that moment.

Today, against the heavily weakened Nuggets, the Bucks trailed by up to 23 points and played without any sense of shame. The Nuggets were missing Jokic, Murray, Watson, Valanciunas, Kajo, and Braun, and Gordon also exited due to injury at halftime. Despite that, the Bucks failed to win.

However, in the final phase of the game, the Bucks went on a 20-4 run, cutting an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter down to just two points at one stage. It was during this time that Giannis suffered a calf injury without any contact and was taken out of the game.

Giannis had already entered the players' tunnel heading to the locker room when Rollins hit a clutch three-pointer to keep the team alive. Hearing the crowd's cheers, Giannis turned back to the court and sat on the bench to watch the rest of the game, his calf already wrapped with a brace.

He witnessed Rollins sinking a second three-pointer to revive the team and saw Kuzma miss a buzzer-beater from midcourt. Even after the loss, Giannis showed a deeply regretful expression and joined the team for a prayer session afterward. Given this Giannis, I find it hard to believe he has made up his mind to leave.

Many people point to Giannis taking only 5 shots in the first half and 8 shots for the entire game as evidence that he has started to tank. But besides shot attempts, you have to consider his free throws; he made 14 out of 16 free throws, scoring 22 points with 13 rebounds and 7 assists. If you convert those 16 free throws into 8 shot attempts, his total attempts would be 16, close to his season average of 16.5 attempts per game.

Giannis was indeed in poor form today, mainly because he wasn't physically at his best. Coach Bud wanted him to rest, but Giannis insisted on playing. When he injured his calf in the last minute, Bud didn't ask but immediately took him out. Later, when Giannis wanted to return to the court, Rivers did not allow it.

If Giannis had any intention of tanking, would he have played through injury without giving full effort? Tanking after breaking with the team was what Butler showed during his time with the Heat last season. The frustration Giannis displayed in this game mostly stems from the team's poor performance.

The Bucks have won only 1 of their last 6 games, currently standing at 18-26, 11th in the East, and even falling behind the 10th-seeded Hawks. Has Giannis ever considered leaving such a Bucks team? Surely he has. Even if many rumors were spread by Giannis's agency, he couldn't have been completely unaware.

But he has been in Milwaukee for nearly 13 years, so it's not true to say he has no emotional attachment. He grew here from a skinny Greek kid into a towering figure in the league, earning more money than he could ever spend, winning MVP awards, and a championship. Even though the team is currently in a slump, his feelings for this team and city will not fade with time.

At the same time, he doesn't want to waste his final prime years. A player of his caliber certainly cannot accept a mediocre rest of his career. Giannis is not someone without ambition; otherwise, he wouldn't have won a championship. He cares deeply about winning and how others perceive him.

He wants to stay in Milwaukee for life while maintaining competitiveness, but now it seems impossible to have both. So Giannis and the Bucks are stuck in a painful tug-of-war, with neither willing to be the "bad guy" who breaks the stalemate first. In this context, Giannis's calf injury may have provided both sides a moment of relief.

According to Shams's report after the game, Giannis personally told the media that he injured his calf, will undergo an MRI tomorrow, and is expected to be out for 4 to 6 weeks. This season, Giannis has had recurring minor calf injuries, resting a few games before returning repeatedly, which carries significant risk if continued.

If Giannis does rest for 4 to 6 weeks this time, he will definitely finish the season with the Bucks since the trade deadline is less than two weeks away. Giannis will give the Bucks another buffer period to see if they can strengthen the roster by the trade deadline and what moves they can make in the off-season to retain him.

The tug-of-war between both sides will continue until one truly gives up, ending a bond that has lasted 13 years.