Damian Lillard, who has missed the Bucks‘ past four games due to a calf issue and an illness, will return to action on Saturday against Chicago, reports NBA insider Chris Haynes (via Twitter).
Speaking to reporters after today’s shootaround, Lillard explained that the calf injury, which caused him to miss games last Friday and Saturday, was a “mild” strain and that the illness which sidelined him on Monday and Thursday hit him much harder, as Eric Nehm of The Athletic relays (via Twitter).
“I’ve never been that sick before in my entire life,” Lillard said. “I wasn’t throwing up, nothing. I just didn’t eat for two days. I didn’t eat at all. I didn’t get up, nothing. I was down. It was bad. Couple days ago, I tried to work out – the night before (Thursday’s) Brooklyn game, because I wanted to play against Brooklyn – but I mean, the whole time I was working out, it just kept making me cough, coughing up s–t. I got through the workout, but I couldn’t breathe good.
“… I lost a couple pounds. I mean, if you don’t eat for two days. And I was just trying to at least stay hydrated. … (But) I didn’t have no food in me, it was just all liquid, so obviously I dropped some weight.”
Here are a few more health updates from around the NBA:
- Raptors swingman Bruce Brown, who has been sidelined for the entire season while recovering from a knee procedure, is listed as questionable to make his season debut on Sunday vs. Atlanta, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. Starting center Jakob Poeltl, out since December 16 due to a bilateral groin strain, is among several other Toronto players who are questionable to play on Sunday, Lewenberg notes.
- Pistons center Isaiah Stewart is probable to suit up on Saturday vs. Denver after missing the team’s past four games due to a hyperextended left knee, tweets Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. Before getting injured in his 27th game of the season on Dec. 16, Stewart had appeared in each of Detroit’s first 26 contests, averaging 22.0 minutes per night.
- Although Mitchell Robinson still hasn’t been cleared for practice or even started sprinting at full speed, Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau is encouraged by the center’s rehab progress as he makes his way back from offseason ankle surgery, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. “There’s still some benchmarks that he has to get through, but he’s done a terrific job,” Thibodeau said on Friday in Orlando. “He’s light, he’s lean, he’s worked extremely hard. So we just want to make sure we’re patient and let him work his way through it.” According to Thibodeau, the next phase for Robinson is full-speed running — after that, he’ll be cleared for practice and contact. However, the exact timeline for those steps is still unclear.
If Mitch comes back healthy and Knicks add size at SF/PF on the bench at the trading deadline, this team is ready for a Championship run… but those two pieces are important for that to happen
They are saying Mitch could be pushed back to Feb. Too close to TD for me. IMO there’s a good chance he will be moved. Knicks need scoring off the bench. Hukporti and Sims can handle backup mins. Or you can pick up a C who gets bought out or cut at TD.
But we don’t Need I Stewart. Personally I like him. To me he’s the same player as Precious. And I like Precious more. And both are better 4s than 5s. OK
IS numbers — 6pts n 6reb at 21.4 mins
PA numbers — 5.2pts n 7reb at 19.5 mins
Knicks also really need rim protection though. If Robinson can return I’d just keep him given how badly they need it
NYK rotation is set aside from Mitch. If Mitch isn’t back, then maybe they’d look, but for who? NYK don’t have any room under their hard cap (can’t even add a minimum wage player as the 15th until March), or significant picks they can trade. Obviously, the core players (the starters and McBride) are not going anywhere. Mitch, if not healthy, is not going to return anything. Maybe, Precious or Sims (both expiring), and some 2nds, for a C making less than the one they trade. But why? Precious is starting to play well, and Sims knows the system. Hukporti is another body. Probably as good as we’re going to get in the market.