12:03pm: Bucks GM Jon Horst clarifies that Bledsoe technically fractured the cartilage between two of his ribs, and doesn’t have any broken bones, tweets Matt Velazquez of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. It’s possible that Bledsoe will beat his projected two-to-three-week recovery timeline, since it will come down to pain tolerance, Velazquez adds.
9:23am: Eric Bledsoe may not be available for the Bucks to start the season, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the veteran point guard suffered a small fracture of his rib and is expected to miss up to two or three weeks.
Bledsoe, who turns 30 in December, had a strong regular season in 2018/19 for Milwaukee, averaging 15.9 PPG, 5.5 APG, and 4.6 RPG with a career-best .484 FG%. However, he struggled to consistently produce in the playoffs, as his FG% dipped to .411, including .294 in the Bucks’ six-game Eastern Conference Finals loss to Toronto.
Because he signed a four-year extension during the ’18/19 campaign though, Bledsoe is set to enter the season as Milwaukee’s starting point guard for the foreseeable future. He’ll earn about $15.6MM in 2019/20, the first year of that four-year deal.
If Bledsoe has to miss time to start the season, George Hill figures to slide into the starting five in his place. Donte DiVincenzo and/or two-way player Frank Mason could also see a bump in minutes, while Giannis Antetokounmpo might assume increased ball-handling responsibilities.