Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo out Wednesday vs. Phoenix Suns

Matt Velazquez
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) battle for a rebound in the fourth quarter at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

PHOENIX - The injury list continues to grow for the Milwaukee Bucks, with star Giannis Antetokounmpo's name becoming the latest to be scratched from the lineup.

Antetokounmpo will miss Wednesday's game against the Phoenix Suns due to right knee soreness. He joins Mirza Teletovic (left knee surgery), Matthew Dellavedova (left knee soreness), John Henson (eye procedure) and Jabari Parker (left ACL rehab) as players who will miss the 8 p.m. contest at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

"We've got a lot of people out tonight, but that means someone else has to step up," said coach Jason Kidd, who is back with the team after missing Monday's game following the birth of his daughter Sunday. "We're going to use everybody; everybody has to be ready."

Antetokounmpo says his knee soreness is the same injury he dealt with in the off-season, which caused him to withdraw from the Greek national team.

"It feels good," Antetokounmpo said after sitting out shootaround. "I'm just trying to be careful with it and not make any damage. That's it, because it's a long season and I'm trying to be careful."

Through the first 16 games, Antetokounmpo averaged the second-most minutes per game in the NBA (37.8), trailing only Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James (37.9). The health of Antetokounmpo's knee could be something that causes Kidd to change his young star's minutes load going forward.

"It’s something that I had talked about that his minutes have been a little high early on," Kidd said. "We’ve got to look at our bench — our bench has been inconsistent. Those guys are going to have to do a better job of trying to eat up minutes for Giannis or Khris. Khris is playing a lot of minutes, too.”

With the Bucks off Thursday and Friday, Antetokounmpo hopes he will be able to return Saturday in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz.

"Hopefully, that's the plan," he said. "I feel like I can rest a little bit and get some treatment, get some workouts in, lift a little bit, feel a little bit stronger, get my confidence up — because sometimes it's about confidence, too."

Dellavedova is with the team after not making the trip for Saturday's game in Dallas against the Mavericks. It's possible he could return during Milwaukee's four-game road trip.

"He's still out and will be out until we see how he feels if he can practice on this trip at some point," Kidd said.