MILWAUKEE (AP) -Milwaukee Bucks leading scorer Michael Redd will miss the final six games of the season with a nagging left knee injury.
Redd, who missed three of the Bucks’ previous five games because of soreness in his knee, apparently aggravated the injury in Milwaukee’s loss to New York on Saturday night.
Redd also missed 20 games earlier this season with a strained left patellar tendon. The Bucks are 4-19 in games without Redd.
“After consulting with our team physicians, the best course of action for Michael going forward is to rest and rehabilitate his knee,” Bucks general manager Larry Harris said. “We expect him to make a full recovery.”
Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak said he was not involved in the decision to sit Redd, leaving it up to the team’s medical staff. But given the team’s injury situation all season, he said it’s no surprise.
“There’s not a thing that’s going to surprise me after what we’ve gone through,” Krystkowiak said.
Milwaukee already is playing without center Andrew Bogut and forward Charlie Villanueva, who both were ruled out for the season with injuries March 21. The team also has been without projected starting forward Bobby Simmons all season.
Milwaukee forward Brian Skinner also sat out Wednesday’s game with vertigo-like symptoms from an inner ear infection.
Krystkowiak said he didn’t necessarily blame players’ poor conditioning for the rash of injuries this season, but still called on them to take better care of themselves in the offseason.
“I don’t know enough about what guys do during the summer, but I know that based on what we’ve just experienced, it should be on everybody’s shoulders to make sure they’re in better shape coming into fall camp,” Krystkowiak said.
Redd appeared in 53 games for the Bucks this season and averaged a career-best 26.7 points per game – the highest scoring average for a Bucks player since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar averaged 30.0 points during the 1974-75 season.
Orlando Magic coach Brian Hill seemed skeptical that his team wouldn’t have to face Redd on Monday night.
“I’ll believe it when the game starts,” Hill said.
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