Damian Lillard helped lead the Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA Cup championship on Tuesday night with 23 points on 6-of-12 shooting including hitting 5-of-10 attempts from three in 35 minutes.
However, the prolific bucket-getter was unfortunately unable to suit up for Friday night’s loss to the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers due to a strained right calf. His availability for Saturday night’s matchup with the Washington Wizards is currently in question.
On Friday night, coach Doc Rivers was questioned about Lillard’s injury. Lillard had told reporters after the NBA Cup semifinals that he felt irritation in his calf.
Rivers was asked if the injury occurred against the Oklahoma City Thunder or in the semis, to which he replied, “I have no idea. I just know after the game, the next day basically, they told me that we needed to sit him for a minute, so we’ll see. It didn’t hurt during the game. We took him out once though. He looked like he was favoring it, but he wanted to go back in…”
A recovery timeline is not known at the moment, Rivers said, “I have no idea. My guess–I’m guessing like you guys–it’s a strain. I don’t think it’s a severe one, but I think we’re going to be cautious.”
Lillard mentioned on Monday that any calf issue causes him to worry. Hopefully the Bucks are attempting to be preventive rather than reactive in managing yet another injury to their starting lineup.
The 34-year old is averaging 25.7 points, 7.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and a steal in 36.4 minutes on the season. Lillard is shooting 37.1 percent from three on 9.3 attempts per game–the Bucks will surely miss the spacing he provides during his absence.
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