Mirotic all set to make Bucks debut

Milwaukee forward Nikola Mirotic appears poised to make his Bucks debut on Thursday night against the visiting Boston Celtics. Acquired in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans at the Feb. 7 trade deadline, Mirotic has been nursing a strained right calf and has not played since Jan. 23.

Mirotic is officially listed by the Bucks as probable on the injury report, but he posted the words "I'm ready" on his Twitter feed Tuesday, followed by a fire emoji, a basketball emoji and the hashtag "#FearTheDeer." Mirotic, 28, averaged 16.7 points and a career-high 8.3 rebounds in 32 games this season with the Pelicans. In his fifth NBA season, Mirotic started his career in 2014-15 with the Chicago Bulls and has averaged 12.3 points over 305 career games.