The first clash between the Bucks and Kawhi Leonard since the Eastern Conference finals is on hold

LOS ANGELES – When the Milwaukee Bucks knocked off the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night at Fiserv Forum, Giannis Antetokounmpo acknowledged having some extra motivation to beat the team that ousted the Bucks from the Eastern Conference finals last spring.

Of course, there was one big part missing from that Raptors team, NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, who went to the Los Angeles Clippers  in free agency. Antetokounmpo brought Leonard up, too, after the win over the Raptors, calling Leonard "one of the best players in the league, one of the best closers in the league, probably one of the toughest guys to guard in the league."

Surely facing off against Leonard would offer a lot of the same motivation for Antetokounmpo and the Bucks as they felt going up against the Raptors for the first time since last May. But that matchup is going to have to wait.

While the Bucks and Clippers meet for the first time at Staples Center on Wednesday in a matchup featured on ESPN, Leonard isn't part of the equation.

The Clippers announced Tuesday that Leonard would sit out for the purpose of load management. Leonard is expected to sit out one game in sets of back-to-back games often this season and with the Clippers set to play the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday – a nationally-televised game on TNT –  the decision was made to keep Leonard out against the Bucks.

“I think everybody wants to play against teams with their full complement of players," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "Great players test you and make you better."

While much of the discussion surrounding the game focused on Leonard's absence, the Bucks continued business as usual with a morning shootaround at Beverly Hills High School. They knew the Clippers, even without Leonard and running mate Paul George (shoulder injuries), have plenty of players who will be ready to go Wednesday night.

Those players who would be on the court – not the ones on the sideline – were the focus.

“I don’t think we’re a team that focuses on one guy," Bucks wing Khris Middleton said. (Leonard is) a great player, had a hell of a series against us last year, but I don’t think we’re all out to get one guy. We’re a team that’s trying to go out and beat good teams and win.”

The whole situation fanned the flames of the always-contentious debate about star players resting, particularly in marquee games. In 2017, the NBA tried to address the issue by approving stricter rules aimed to prevent teams from resting healthy players.

However, according to ESPN, the Clippers have complied with all league rules in their handling of Leonard. League spokesman Mike Bass told ESPN that Leonard is not considered a healthy player by the league because he is managing a knee injury and at the moment isn't sufficiently healthy to play in back-to-back games.

While fans of the Clippers and the league, in general, may not be happy with Leonard's load management or absence for particular games, Budenholzer said Wednesday that he both understands that situation and doesn't begrudge how it has been handled.

"Certainly, at the end of the day, you want to play teams at their best, but what they choose to do and how they manage the player and the season, I have all the respect for (them)," he said. "We do similar things, everybody does it. It’s part of our league. 

“I think having healthy players is probably the most important thing to our league, so anything that keeps our players healthy I think is very good for our league.”

The Bucks and Clippers will meet for their second and final regular-season matchup Dec. 6 at Fiserv Forum. That game isn't part of a back-to-back for either team, setting the stage for that night to feature the full collection of stars for two of the NBA's top teams.