Central Notes: Allen, Weaver, Bogdanovic, Drummond

Grayson Allen could return for the Bucks‘ first playoff game, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets. Coach Mike Budenholzer addressed Allen’s injury situation on Tuesday and said it all depends on how much Allen, who has a right ankle sprain, can do in practices leading up to the postseason. A promising MRI added to the encouragement that Allen can come back in the opening round.

“If everything kind of went perfect, I think there are scenarios where he could be available for the first (playoff) game,” the Bucks’ coach said.

We have more from the Central Division:

• It’s been another miserable season for the Pistons, who seem destined to have the league’s worst record. GM Troy Weaver penned a letter to Pistons fans in a press release, saying they’re on the “right path to success” with the young players they have and the changes that are coming. “We are in an excellent spot to upgrade our roster this offseason,” Weaver wrote. “We’ve positioned ourselves for another high draft choice in this year’s draft, we have a favorable salary cap position, and we’ll continue to talk with teams and evaluate trade opportunities as they present themselves.”
• The Pistons have unofficially shut down leading scorer Bojan Bogdanovic for the season due to an Achilles injury but Bogdanovic has been active in other ways with the team, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press tweets. “He’s still in our meetings, in our practice, shootarounds, he’s still involved,” coach Dwane Casey said. “He gives opinions in our film sessions. If our older players see anything, they speak because they’ve been through it.”
• Bulls center Andre Drummond missed a game last week “to clear my mind,” according to The Associated Press. “I had to take some time away to really clear my mind and address some things that I’d been neglecting for a while,” he said. “I feel OK. Obviously, I still have a lot of work to do with my mental. But we have a job to do. And that’s to win basketball games and get to the playoffs.”