The 40-30 Milwaukee Bucks take on the 34-37 Phoenix Suns (and former head coach Mike Budenholzer) on Monday night. Winners of two straight games, Milwaukee is looking to keep pace in what has become a tight race for seeding in the NBA Eastern Conference.
Currently, the Bucks hold the fifth seed and are just one-and-a-half games behind their hated rivals, the Indiana Pacers, who have won five straight games and hold the four seed. However, they are also just a single game ahead of the sixth-seeded Detroit Pistons.
Unfortunately, Milwaukee will face Phoenix without the services of nine-time All-Star point guard Damian Lillard, who will miss his third straight game with a calf injury. And it does not sound like he will be back any time soon.
Milwaukee Bucks Head Coach Doc Rivers Provided a Dismal Update on the Damian Lillard Injury
Lillard has been on Milwaukee’s injury report in each of their last couple of games with what is described as a Soleus strain. As Bucks fans may recall, it was a Soleus strain that forced Giannis Antetokounmpo to miss their entire playoff series against Indiana last year, which they unfortunately lost.
On Monday night, head coach Doc Rivers did not sound very optimistic about Lillard’s outlook going forward.
When Eric Nehm of The Athletic asked the Bucks coach if his star point guard was making any progress with his injury, Rivers said, “No, obviously, because he’s not playing. So, we’re just going to keep monitoring it and hopeful that we’ll get more information about it today. I know he saw some people, so we’re checking everything out.”
Rivers revealed that Lillard has had imaging done, a couple times, on his calf. However, he does not know yet if there is concern that the Bucks’ star may have torn it.
Including tonight’s game against the Suns, the Bucks have 12 regular season games remaining. As stated above, they are in the midst of a tight race for seeding in the Eastern Conference. To say they need Lillard back would be understatement, but they need him healthy for the NBA Playoffs even more.
Hopefully he will be able to play before then.
| Season | Age | Team | Lg | Pos | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | eFG% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-13 | 22 | POR | NBA | PG | 82 | 82 | 38.6 | 6.7 | 15.7 | .429 | 2.3 | 6.1 | .368 | 4.5 | 9.6 | .469 | .501 | 3.3 | 3.9 | .844 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 6.5 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 3.0 | 2.1 | 19.0 | ROY-1 |
| 2013-14 | 23 | POR | NBA | PG | 82 | 82 | 35.8 | 6.7 | 15.9 | .424 | 2.7 | 6.8 | .394 | 4.1 | 9.1 | .447 | .508 | 4.5 | 5.2 | .871 | 0.4 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 5.6 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 20.7 | AS,NBA3 |
| 2014-15 | 24 | POR | NBA | PG | 82 | 82 | 35.7 | 7.2 | 16.6 | .434 | 2.4 | 7.0 | .343 | 4.8 | 9.6 | .500 | .506 | 4.2 | 4.9 | .864 | 0.6 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 6.2 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 21.0 | AS |
| 2015-16 | 25 | POR | NBA | PG | 75 | 75 | 35.7 | 8.2 | 19.7 | .419 | 3.1 | 8.1 | .375 | 5.2 | 11.5 | .450 | .497 | 5.5 | 6.2 | .892 | 0.6 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 6.8 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 3.2 | 2.2 | 25.1 | MVP-8,NBA2 |
| 2016-17 | 26 | POR | NBA | PG | 75 | 75 | 35.9 | 8.8 | 19.8 | .444 | 2.9 | 7.7 | .370 | 6.0 | 12.1 | .492 | .516 | 6.5 | 7.3 | .895 | 0.6 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 5.9 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 2.6 | 2.0 | 27.0 | |
| 2017-18 | 27 | POR | NBA | PG | 73 | 73 | 36.6 | 8.5 | 19.4 | .439 | 3.1 | 8.6 | .361 | 5.4 | 10.8 | .501 | .519 | 6.8 | 7.4 | .916 | 0.8 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 6.6 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 26.9 | MVP-4,AS,NBA1 |
| 2018-19 | 28 | POR | NBA | PG | 80 | 80 | 35.5 | 8.5 | 19.2 | .444 | 3.0 | 8.0 | .369 | 5.6 | 11.1 | .499 | .522 | 5.9 | 6.4 | .912 | 0.9 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 6.9 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 2.7 | 1.9 | 25.8 | MVP-6,AS,NBA2 |
| 2019-20 | 29 | POR | NBA | PG | 66 | 66 | 37.5 | 9.5 | 20.4 | .463 | 4.1 | 10.2 | .401 | 5.4 | 10.2 | .524 | .563 | 7.0 | 7.8 | .888 | 0.5 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 8.0 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 2.9 | 1.7 | 30.0 | MVP-8,AS,NBA2 |
| 2020-21 | 30 | POR | NBA | PG | 67 | 67 | 35.8 | 9.0 | 19.9 | .451 | 4.1 | 10.5 | .391 | 4.9 | 9.4 | .519 | .554 | 6.7 | 7.2 | .928 | 0.5 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 7.5 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 28.8 | MVP-7,AS,NBA2 |
| 2021-22 | 31 | POR | NBA | PG | 29 | 29 | 36.4 | 7.7 | 19.0 | .402 | 3.2 | 9.8 | .324 | 4.5 | 9.2 | .485 | .486 | 5.5 | 6.2 | .878 | 0.4 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 7.3 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 24.0 | |
| 2022-23 | 32 | POR | NBA | PG | 58 | 58 | 36.3 | 9.6 | 20.7 | .463 | 4.2 | 11.3 | .371 | 5.4 | 9.4 | .574 | .564 | 8.8 | 9.6 | .914 | 0.8 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 7.3 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 32.2 | CPOY-10,AS,NBA3 |
| 2023-24 | 33 | MIL | NBA | PG | 73 | 73 | 35.3 | 7.4 | 17.5 | .424 | 3.0 | 8.5 | .354 | 4.4 | 9.0 | .490 | .510 | 6.5 | 7.0 | .920 | 0.5 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 7.0 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 2.6 | 1.8 | 24.3 | CPOY-11,AS |
| 2024-25 | 34 | MIL | NBA | PG | 58 | 58 | 36.1 | 7.7 | 17.1 | .448 | 3.4 | 9.0 | .376 | 4.3 | 8.1 | .528 | .547 | 6.2 | 6.8 | .921 | 0.5 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 7.1 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 2.8 | 1.7 | 24.9 | |
| 13 Yrs | 900 | 900 | 36.2 | 8.1 | 18.4 | .439 | 3.1 | 8.4 | .371 | 5.0 | 10.0 | .495 | .523 | 5.8 | 6.5 | .899 | 0.6 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 6.7 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 25.1 | |||||
| POR (11 Yrs) | 769 | 769 | 36.3 | 8.2 | 18.6 | .439 | 3.1 | 8.3 | .372 | 5.1 | 10.3 | .494 | .523 | 5.8 | 6.4 | .895 | 0.6 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 6.7 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 25.2 | |||||
| MIL (2 Yrs) | 131 | 131 | 35.7 | 7.5 | 17.3 | .434 | 3.2 | 8.7 | .364 | 4.3 | 8.6 | .506 | .526 | 6.4 | 6.9 | .921 | 0.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 7.0 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 2.7 | 1.8 | 24.6 | |||||
More Milwaukee Bucks News from Wisconsin Sports Heroics
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- Former Bucks PG Matthew Dellavedova Going Viral for Heartwarming Gesture After Team Loses NBL Finals
- “Thriving Without Me;” Bucks Star Giannis Antetokounmpo Praises Bench After Latest Win
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