There was one clear takeaway from Milwaukee’s Game 1 loss to the Pacers on Saturday: The Bucks desperately need another shot creator beyond Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Enter Damian Lillard. He missed Game 1 of the series as he got his conditioning back up after missing the final 14 games of the regular season due to deep vein thrombosis in his calf. However, he has been upgraded to questionable for Game 2, the first step to Lilard being cleared to play on Tuesday night.
Injury Report – April 22 at Indiana
Out:
Tyler Smith (Left Ankle Sprain)Questionable:
Damian Lillard (Return to Competition Reconditioning)— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) April 21, 2025
“He’s close. He looks great to me,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said just before the upgrade was announced, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Rivers practiced with the team on Monday and had gone through scrimmages the two days prior, Rivers said. It’s an incredibly quick and fortunate recovery from what can be a career-threatening condition. Early detection and action by the Bucks medical team proved to be the key.
Lillard averaged 24.9 points a game while shooting 37.6% from 3, plus adding 7.1 assists and 4.9 rebounds a game this season. He did not play at the level of the perennial All-NBA guy of five to seven years ago in Portland, but Lillard was an All-Star, and he brings shooting and secondary shot creation that Milwaukee desperately needs in this series. He’s also a defensive liability and is likely to be rusty after a month without playing in an NBA game.
Lillard’s return alone will not be enough against a Pacers team playing well on both ends of the court. Kyle Kuzma can’t shoot 0-of-5 again, and Brook Lopez has to have a bigger impact on the game as well. That said, getting Lillard back is a step in the right direction for Milwaukee.
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