The Milwaukee Bucks will be without one of its top players in their game against the Washington Wizards this evening. That’s because Damian Lillard has been ruled out with a hamstring strain. Or at least that’s what the scouting report said. Bucks head coach Doc Rivers alluded heavily to ‘father time’ catching up to Lillard when breaking down his absence.
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Resting stars who are getting up there in age isn’t anything new. Load management has been around for years now (popularized by Kawhi Leonard) and despite the backlash teams get for resting stars, it’s still quite prevalent.
Rivers spoke with the media ahead of his team’s matchup with the Wizards and was asked by Bucks beat writer Eric Nehm about Dame. While Nehm was expecting to get a diagnosis, he instead heard Rivers be real about the situation. Dame is now 34, and Rivers wasn’t afraid to jokingly call him out for being too old to party so much.
“I think what Dame [Damian Lillard] has found out is that he’s old. And when you party the entire All-Star weekend, he just can’t hang the way he used to. And so, he’s out…You can level it anyway you want to,” Rivers stated with a laugh.
Asked about Damian Lillard being listed as out (right hamstring return to play injury management) for tonight’s game on the Bucks’ first injury report.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers: pic.twitter.com/NdYKDm9NdS
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) February 21, 2025
Dame nearly missed The Buck’s Thursday game against the Clippers due to the same hamstring strain, but he managed to suit up. The Bucks went on to win 116-110, with Dame dropping a modest 15 points on subpar efficiency.
Still, this isn’t the first time Dame has had to face his youth escaping him. He and LeBron James had a moment on All-Star weekend, where LeBron failed to refer to him as a “youngin’.” Dame told LeBron that he “ain’t old,” but LeBron fired back, “You ain’t no youngin’ no more bruh.”
No matter what his age is, Damian Lillard is still balling out
Doc Rivers and LeBron James joked about Damian Lillard being older all they want. The truth is that it’s still very much Dame Time on the court. The nine-time All-Star is averaging 25.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game this season. He’s shooting 44.7% from the field and 37.9% from the three-point range in 45 games.
If the season ended today the Bucks would hold the #5 spot in the playoffs. This would put them up against the #4 seeded Pacers, the same team that beat them in 6 games last year in the first round.
If they were to face off against each other, it would prove to be quite the challenging series, especially if Dame or Giannis are not 100%. However, when both are healthy, the Bucks are a sneaky dark horse in the Eastern Conference.
Their victory over the Clippers one night ago is proof. Dame still dropped 15 despite nearly missing the game, and Giannis is now on a minutes restriction. Dame’s peak has not yet been reached, regardless of what Rivers thinks.
