“He’s Not Even Going to Be Great Every Night”: Doc Rivers Puts Damian Lillard’s Nightly Impact into Perspective

Damian Lillard was once a superstar on a nightly basis while leading the Portland Trail Blazers. Now though, the 34-year-old is more in the passenger’s seat playing alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo. It may be time for both the Milwaukee Bucks and the NBA to start tempering expectations for the eight-time All-Star.

Bucks head coach Doc Rivers appears to think that the aging star’s dependability is waning and that he won’t be lighting up the scoreboard every game. However, Rivers also emphasized that Dame would continue to play a massive role in the Bucks’ success, even if he isn’t dominating each contest.

“He’s not going to have 40 every night, he’s not even going to be great every night. No one is, but he really helped us win,” Rivers stated after Milwaukee’s victory on Sunday.

The statement from Rivers came just after the Bucks’ narrow victory over the mediocre Brooklyn Nets. In a performance that was a far cry from his ‘Dame-Time’ dominance, Lillard only shot the ball seven times — all from the three-point range — knocking down just two of them. Dame finished with just 15 points, his final score boosted by nine free throws.

Lillard’s 11 assists was the lone positive outlier of his night. Milwaukee’s success and Dame’s assist numbers seem to be directly correlated, as the team is a perfect 6-0 when the future Hall of Fame point guard dishes out 10 or more dimes.

His solid passing numbers were nearly cancelled out by a ghastly seven turnovers. But the Bucks proved capable of securing a victory even during one of Dame’s off nights. Maybe the opposition’s quality helped.

So far this season, the Bucks have moved as their two stars have. When Lillard and Antetokounmpo produce a strong showing, more often than not, Milwaukee comes out on top. After a miserable start to the campaign, the Bucks have been able to flip the script and settle in as a competitive team in the Eastern Conference.

The team’s slowly improving health, highlighted by the return of Khris Middleton, has obviously been a boon. But the leadership and budding chemistry between Lillard and Giannis has been the headline of their recent surge.

Milwaukee closed out November on a six-game winning streak, taking eight of nine to leap over .500 before December began. This stretch was highlighted by a string of solid performances from Lillard, who posted five-straight games of 25 or more points. Before Sunday’s scoring dud, Dame hadn’t notched under 20 points since November 18.

At this point in his career, Lillard’s lone priority is winning, and it’s clear the aging star is still helping the Bucks do just that.