The Celtics won't be facing Giannis when the Bucks come to town Wednesday

BOSTON -- Wednesday night was supposed to be one of the Celtics' last real tests of the regular season ahead of the playoffs. But the Milwaukee Bucks will not be whole when they come to Boston, as Giannis Antetokounmpo is set to miss the tilt.

Antetokounmpo will sit out his second straight game with a hamstring injury, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.  He also sat out Milwaukee's win over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, with Damian Lillard leading the Bucks to a 140-129 win with 31 points and 16 assists.

Not having to deal with Giannis will obviously make life a bit easier on the Celtics on Wednesday. He led the Bucks to a huge 135-102 win over Boston ahead of the All-Star break with 24 points off 10-of-13 shooting, though the C's managed to keep him in check with 21 points off 7-of-20 shooting in a 119-116 win in Boston in November.

But just because Antetokounmpo isn't on the floor and driving to the hoop like a wrecking ball doesn't mean the Bucks aren't a dangerous team. Milwaukee is 3-1 in games that he's missed this season, with Lillard averaging 31.5 points per game off 48 percent shooting from the floor and over 40 percent from three-point range in those contests. 

The Celtics should be at full strength for the matchup, with Jaylen Brown (right ankle sprain), Sam Hauser (left ankle sprain), and former Bucks guard Jrue Holiday (right AC Joint sprain) all listed as questionable for the game. Hauser missed Monday night's blowout win over the Pistons after suffering his ankle injury Sunday night in his 30-point outburst against the Wizards. 

With the Bucks responsible for one of Boston's few embarrassing losses on the season, don't expect the Celtics to take them lightly on Wednesday night -- even without their best player.  The two teams will match up again in Milwaukee on April 9, though chances are the tiebreaker won't come into play when the regular season ends.

The Celtics currently sit 10 games up on the Bucks for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, with a magic number of five to clinch the No. 1 seed in the conference.