The Milwaukee Bucks were dealt a brutal blow last night as star guard Damian Lillard was ruled out for an indefinite period with a blood clot in his right calf. He has been put on blood thinners and will be monitored closely before ay decision about his return to the court is made. It’s a tough pill to digest for the Bucks, who were headed straight to the playoffs.
Advertisement
The Bucks are 40-31 in the season and currently tied for fifth in the East with the Pistons, but if they don’t get Dame back, they’ll face an uphill battle the rest of the way this season, even with just 11 games left.
Adding insult to injury, Giannis Antetokounmpo is questionable to play tonight against the Denver Nuggets with a left foot sprain. This is a new injury for Giannis, and it puts his playing status in serious jeopardy.
It should be noted, though, that he’s been listed on the injury report a few times in recent weeks with knee and calf issues but has played every game since the All-Star break anyway. Maybe he can push through this as well.
Seeing as Giannis played 37 minutes in Monday night’s loss to the Suns, this foot sprain feels like a convenient excuse for a scheduled rest day.
Knowing that Nikola Jokic won’t be playing will likely factor into the decision, as the Bucks should be able to find a way to defend home court against a Nuggets team that really struggles without their three-time MVP.
The Bucks are 5.5 games ahead of the Hawks, so there’s no need to stress about falling to a play-in spot. That means that the number one priority is to get healthy before the playoffs, especially after last year’s potential run was derailed by Giannis missing the entire Pacers series with a calf strain and Dame being held out of two games with a sore Achilles.
Giannis needs to play in six of the Bucks’ final 11 games in order to be eligible to make All-NBA, so expect him to do that and not much more as he attempts to get fully healthy and ready for the postseason.
