Bucks' Bobby Portis Suspended 25 Games | Fantasy Basketball Impact for Bucks, Brook Lopez, Kyle Kuzma, Gary Trent Jr., Taurean Prince, Kevin Porter Jr. and More

The Milwaukee Bucks have been playing without Giannis Antetokounmpo of late.

The star player practiced on Wednesday and is nearing a return, but now another Milwaukee post player is out, and this one is for a lot longer.

Milwaukee is 29-24 on the season, so Portis could return for the Bucks' final four regular season games if the suspension sticks at 25 games.

Let's discuss what the suspension means for the Bucks, both from a real world and fantasy basketball perspective.

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Portis' Impact

Portis can play power forward or center, and has come off the bench in all but seven of his 46 games so far this season. He seems to play best when the Bucks were missing Antetokounmpo, and he was great before the All-Star break.

Across his 25.2 minutes per game this season, Portis is averaging 13.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.5 blocks per game. He was shooting 46.3% overall, 36.4% from 3-point land and 82.1% from the free throw line.

The Bucks aren't going to crumble to pieces without Portis, but this is a really big loss for them, especially considering the Bucks are sitting fifth in the Eastern Conference right now.

Real World Impact

In Portis' seven missed games this season, Milwaukee is just 2-5. That's not great to see considering there's room for the Bucks to fall in the Eastern Conference standings.

This is really not ideal for Antetokounmpo, who is trying to remain as healthy as possible for the postseason. Not having Portis around means Giannis likely will have to play a bit more each night, while also having a high usage.

This will also put more stress on Brook Lopez and force him to play center more often. Jericho Sims, who was acquired from the Knicks at the trade deadline, is the only other proven NBA center on the roster. You can expect the Bucks to play Giannis at the 5 spot a bunch over the next 25 games.

The deadline deal for Kyle Kuzma is going to be huge now, as Kuzma is going to play a ton of minutes at the 4 spot every night. He might come off the bench to provide a scoring spark.

Taurean Prince is another option at the 4 spot, but probably sticks in the lineup as the small forward. Pat Connaughton is another guy who could play the 4 spot in a pinch, but he's been in and out of the rotation all season.

Damian Lillard will hold down the point guard position, with the newly-acquired Kevin Porter Jr. likely sucking up most of the backup minutes. Ryan Rollins is another point guard option.

Andre Jackson Jr. has been starting as the shooting guard, even though he barely shoots and is mostly out there for defense. AJ Green and the surging Gary Trent Jr. are other guard/forward reserves who will get plenty of minutes nightly to help offset the minutes Portis was playing.

Connaughton might also get more run at the 2 and 3 spots simply out of necessity.

Fantasy Basketball Impact

This is going to heavily impact several fantasy outlooks in Milwaukee.

First off, Portis is a possible drop candidate (if you can't stash him, or put him on IR). If he only plays the final four games of the regular season, he's not going to be of much help anyways, so I'd suggest to just drop Portis now.

I think the player who benefits most from Portis' suspension will be Kuzma. He's going to have a big role, whether it be as a starter or off the bench. 

In four games (three starts) with Milwaukee, Kuzma is averaging 16.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.3 steals and 0.5 blocks across 33.3 minutes. I'd expect him to keep logging that many minutes, but for his points and rebounds to maybe increase a bit. Kuzma is a decent waiver wire option if you had been rostering Portis this season.

Trent is my second guess as to who will step up most during the next 25 games.

Trent was already trending up before the All-Star break, and the suspension to Portis means he should remain heavily involved, even when Giannis is back healthy. 

Trent isn't going to play the spots Portis was at, but he'll get enough minutes to remain a good fantasy asset. Trent should be added in more deep leagues after the suspension news, and could eventually work himself into standard leagues if he keeps up his recent uptick in production.

Lopez is already owned in most fantasy leagues, but this suspension should give him a big enough boost to be rostered in all leagues for the remainder of the season.

Lopez might not play more minutes, but he'll be utilized more, and it should help him average better numbers for the foreseeable future. If he's still available in your league, he's another good replacement for Portis.

Prince might average a couple more minutes per game with Portis out, so he might be able to increase his averages a bit. He's only owned in 9% of leagues right now, so he's worth keeping tabs on in case he steps up over the next couple months.

Lillard and Antetokounmpo are already fantasy studs, and the suspension to Portis shouldn't alter their fantasy outlooks all that much. If anything, they'll get a little boost because they might take a couple more shots per game.

If I rostered Lillard or Antetokounmpo, their fantasy values should get a nice lift for the next 25 games. I wouldn't trade them, but you might get an overpay if you throw them on the trade block, so that's something to consider if your fantasy team needs more depth.

Jackson is not a big fantasy asset because he barely looks to score. He might be forced to shoot more now with Portis out, so I'd at least keep tabs on him in deeper leagues.

Porter has played in just two games with the Bucks, but he looked good in the game before the All-Star break. With more practice time under his belt, he could be a bigger part of the team's rotation moving forward, especially now.

Porter is only rostered in 7% of leagues, and that could rise in a hurry if he excels in his next game or two, so be ready to pounce.

Green is really just a 3-point specialist when it comes to fantasy, but a steady amount of minutes could help him become a daily fantasy option. He's only rostered in 2% of leagues, and there's not an urgency to add him like there would be with Porter.

Connaughton is barely owned in any leagues, but again, he might need to log a decent amount of minutes to help the Bucks get by. He's delivered in the past, so don't forget about Connaughton.

Rollins isn't likely to be a big fantasy asset unless a guard goes down, especially now that Porter has been added to the mix. You never know how Milwaukee might approach things though, so deep-league owners should at least watch him the next few games.

Sims hasn't played with the Bucks yet, and isn't rostered in any leagues. I'd guess he gets at least a few minutes a game, so he's another player to keep track of.

There's a chance Milwaukee also goes out and signs another big man after a little bit, and FantasySP will keep track of that news too.

Keep checking back to FantasySP to see what Milwaukee players are emerging as waiver wire options in the absence of Portis. Milwaukee plays on Thursday night, so we'll get our first look at things and report on how things transpired on Friday.