Already down 2-1 of their first-round matchup in opposition to the Indiana Pacers, issues could have simply gone from dangerous to worse for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Halfway by means of the opening quarter of Sport 4, Damian Lillard, who simply two video games in the past had made his return from deep vein thrombosis, went down with a dreaded non-contact harm. Whereas play continued, a lot of the power and ambiance was sucked out of Fiserv Discussion board enviornment, following Lillard limping off the court docket.
Quickly after, NBA on TNT broadcaster Stephanie Prepared reported that Lillard can be dominated out for the rest of the sport. And shortly after that, much more experiences started flooding in, citing a perception that Lillard had ruptured his Achilles. An Achilles tear is devastating for any participant, however particularly a participant of Lillard’s age, 34.
Whereas it is nonetheless too early to take a position on Lillard’s harm return timeline, it feels protected to chalk up the Bucks’ 2024-2025 season as completed. The Bucks by no means had a lot of a shot of constructing an actual run within the East, and now does that not solely really feel correct for this 12 months, however probably going ahead.
This iteration of the Bucks has, for all intents and functions, dissatisfied. Again-to-back first-round exits—no matter accidents—weren’t what the Milwaukee entrance workplace had in thoughts after they pulled off the Jrue Vacation-Lillard swap. And you’ll wager that with this newest harm, important adjustments are coming within the offseason.
For Lillard, a prolonged year-plus harm rehabilitation seemingly awaits him, which actually is a disgrace for NBA followers worldwide, as a result of when he is proper, he’s some of the thrilling, dynamic and explosive long-distance scorers that now we have in our recreation.
