A few weeks ago, Damian Lillard was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis and placed on injured reserve with no real timetable for return. At the time, it was believed to be the end of Lillard’s season and a potentially disastrous blow to the Dame era of Milwaukee Bucks basketball. Instead, as confirmed by Shams Charania earlier this week, Dame is back and ready in time for the first round of the playoffs!
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It is truly an amazing change of fortune for Lillard. Victor Wembenyama suffered the same problem early in the season and has missed the entire year. By all accounts, this was supposed to be a season ender.
While Lillard will miss tonight’s rematch of last year’s first-round series against the Indiana Pacers, his conditioning should only take a few more days.
Injury Report – April 19 at Indiana
Out:
Damian Lillard (Return to Competition Reconditioning)
Tyler Smith (Left Ankle Sprain)— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) April 18, 2025
This should boost the Bucks’ chances considerably. Without Lillard, the series was expected to come down to Giannis Antetokounmpo doing his best impression of Atlas and carrying the world on his shoulders. Instead, the pairing that drove Milwaukee to a 48-34 record and the fifth seed out East will soon reunite.
This Bucks era of Lillard and Antetokounmpo has disappointed fans so far, as it hasn’t led to any series wins so far, but this year could be different.
Even if it isn’t, this return adds to Lillard’s legend of leaving it all on the floor. There are still concerns, especially from fans who are worried about Lillard’s health if he were to rush back, but this is what playoff basketball is all about.
With both teams now at full strength, this series should be a great indicator of the level we are about to experience in these playoffs. Four seed versus five seed matchups are always the peak of competition and offer a back and forth that is what we all want to see. With Lillard back, we’re in for a treat. Thank the basketball gods for playoff basketball!
