Already down 2-1 of their first-round matchup in opposition to the Indiana Pacers, issues might 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 damage. Whereas play continued, a lot of the vitality 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 invest on Lillard’s damage 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 creating an actual run within the East, and now does that not solely really feel correct for this yr, however presumably going ahead.
This iteration of the Bucks has, for all intents and functions, disenchanted. Again-to-back first-round exits—no matter accidents—weren’t what the Milwaukee entrance workplace had in thoughts once they pulled off the Jrue Vacation-Lillard swap. And you may guess that with this newest damage, important adjustments are coming within the offseason.
For Lillard, a prolonged year-plus damage rehabilitation probably awaits him, which actually is a disgrace for NBA followers worldwide, as a result of when he is proper, he’s one of the vital thrilling, dynamic and explosive long-distance scorers that we now have in our sport.
