Bucks guard Damian Lillard was on crutches and in a walking boot as he left Fiserv Forum Sunday night after suffering an apparent Achilles tear, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN.
Lillard will undergo an MRI today to confirm the extent of the damage, but sources told Collier that a preliminary examination indicates an injury to the left Achilles tendon. In a post-game session with reporters, coach Doc Rivers admitted that the Bucks are fearing the worst, saying, “Just being honest, it’s not very promising.”
“I knew it right away,” Rivers continued. “I felt bad for him; the guy tried to come back for his team. I just felt bad for him.”
The injury occurred midway through the first quarter when Lillard was trying to control an offensive rebound by tipping it to a teammate. He collapsed to the court while grabbing his left leg and remained there through Milwaukee’s defensive possession. He wasn’t able to put any weight on the leg as he was helped to the locker room.
“When a guy just works as hard as he can to get back on the court, then those things like that happen, very sad for him,” Bobby Portis said. “Sad for us for real. We need him out there.”
It’s a tragic ending for Lillard’s comeback story after missing more than a month with deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. He reached the point where no longer required blood-thinning medication and was able to return in Game 2 after missing the series opener.
Collier notes that Lillard’s injury was deflating for a Bucks team that was hoping to even its first-round playoff series. Milwaukee trailed 15-12 when he left the game with 5:57 remaining in the first quarter, but Indiana quickly went on a 10-3 run, led by 11 points at halftime and eventually won by 26, pushing the Bucks to the brink of elimination when the series resumes Tuesday night.
An early playoff exit would mark the third straight year that Milwaukee has been ousted in the first round, and it could lead to major offseason changes for the team, which only has one playoff series victory since capturing the 2021 championship.
Trade speculation is already building around franchise cornerstone Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has two seasons left on his contract, along with a $62.8MM player option for the 2027/28 season.
“I think everybody in the locker room knows what the deal is,” Antetokounmpo said. “The next guy got to step up. We got to do what we got to do, move the ball, play together, try to win the game and come back.”
The shock of Lillard’s injury even shook up the Pacers, who have been engaged in back-and-forth verbal battles with the Bucks since the series began. Myles Turner attributed that to the intense rivalry while saying Lillard is part of “the brotherhood” and expressing best wishes for his recovery. Tyrese Haliburton, who had several exchanges with Lillard during the series, began his post-game remarks with a message regarding the injury (Twitter video link from NBA Central).
“Before you all ask any questions, I want to send my thoughts and prayers to Dame,” Haliburton said. “What you see between us is competing, and you hate to see that happen, especially to a guy who’s went through a lot, and he’s given it his all to come out here and play after a scary health issue. It’s well documented the love I have for that guy. Hate to see that happen to anybody and wish him the best moving forward.”
Very classy by haliburton & indy
Especially after all the chirping by dame & other bucks thugs & all the bs from bucks fans in the arena. Props tyrese. Very mature
Now lets wrap this up tmrw, send these loud mouths home for the 2nd straight yr
Well that acquisition really hasn’t worked out for the Bucks has it? Now they’re really in Cap purgatory and he can’t even play next year probably. Wonder if Giannis will want out? Thoughts?
Even if the trade had not happened. The Bucks would not have won again. They had to do a major move and it may have backfired but in the end it doesn’t even matter.
This is revisionist. This trade never should have happened at the expense of Jrue Holiday…. and especially having him end up in Boston. The Bucks were clearly better with Jrue.
To be fair, the fact that he ended up in Boston doesn’t really have anything to do with the initial trade to Portland. And the reality is that Jrue has aged and his performance in Milwaukee or Portland this year wouldn’t have been too different from his performance in Boston this year, i.e., not good enough to be the second best player on a contender.
well, he clearly would have been the Bucks 2nd best player. the Cs have 3 others who will end up in the HoF plus the nba’s 6MOY winner, so Jrue’s stature with the C’s isn’t as dominant. The Bucks clearly miss his defense.
The Bucks miss the defense he was able to play at his peak, that much is certain! But he’s basically cooked. Dame did something like 24/5/7 this year in the regular season and Holiday was more like 11/4/4. And even with Dame’s injuries in the postseason, he’s played 75 minutes compared to Jrue’s 69. The Bucks made a trade to try to extend their window. It wasn’t a great trade because they were not able to find any perimeter defense to replace Jrue’s perimeter defense, but I don’t think they would have been better off sticking with Jrue.
again, 11/4/4 has to be viewed in context of who else he’s currently playing alongside. he would be in a much more dominant role with the Bucks.
The Bucks downfall from 2021 is due to more than just trading Holiday. The number two player on that team was Khris Middleton. His injuries along with those of Giannis led to playoff series losses in subsequent years. The fact that Lopez is older and not the defensive presence he once was contributed as well.
and btw, Jrue and Dame are the same age.
Where is he gonna go? Ppl keep speculating Bklyn, but they’re much further from winning so that doesn’t make sense (and that’s coming from a realistic Nets fan).
I could possibly see something with the Trailblazers.. but I don’t see the Bucks really ever willingly dealing Giannis.
Giannis to Houston for Jalen Green & Jabari Smith Jr & Houston’s upcoming #9 pick sounds like a good deal for both teams, especially if Milwaukee is rebuilding & doesn’t have Dame. KPJ & Jalen Green already have chemistry together & while Jabari is far from being a Giannis level guy he definitely still has potential to be an all-star level forward. They could use that top10 pick to add another cheap, young, talented prospect as well.
As for Houston they lose JGreen but they can replace him pretty seamlessly with young guys like Whitmore & Sheppard. If they can get a shooter like Gary Trent Jr or AJ Green along with Giannis that would be even better
I think something built around Shaedon Sharpe might be a better fit. And the Blazers can include Grant to make the money work. Sharpe, Grant, Cammara and their FRP and prob another pick. That could set up the Bucks with some core talent to build on. I still think it’s a real long shot GA gets dealt. More likely they will try to give him more help.
Giannis most likely wants to play for a title contender & Portland wouldn’t qualify, especially after giving up 3 of their best players. Houston would have one of the best teams in the league with Giannis. Portland would struggle to make the playoffs. Also Jalen Green is a more desirable piece for Milwaukee than Sharpe or Grant. He’s produced way more than Sharpe while being far more durable & he’s much younger than Grant. He’s also already signed to a long term contract. Plus he already has chemistry with KPJ who should probably be their starting pg next yr.
Disagree. Giannis, Avdija, Simons, Scoot, Clingan, Murray, Banton would be really good.
And the Rockets dealing their best player (Green) doesn’t really make a lot of sense… but we’re all just speculating here.
How sad – my sincere best wishes for a full recovery!
Who are the top5 guards ever from California?
I got Kidd, Harden, Westbrook, Payton, Lillard but I could def see PGeorge, RMiller, DJohnson, Klay, Jrue, BDavis, LaMelo & others making someone’s list as well
Bucks are rly cooked. Already too close to the tax, nkw have a dead 50 mil sitting on their books for next season, can’t get Gianni’s any help. Looks like they’ll have to trade away Lopez or Kuz for ideally a good draft pick and draft a guy a rookie deal, but that likely won’t happen.