Milwaukee Bucks superstar Damian Lillard will be joining Giannis Antetokounmpo on the sidelines for Sunday’s Game 4 showdown against the Indiana Pacers. The Bucks will now officially be without their two best players for this crucial matchup after Dame was ruled out due to an Achilles injury that he suffered in their Game 3 loss on Friday.
There has been some talk about Milwaukee potentially shutting down the eight-time All-Star for the remainder of the series — a notion that has prompted an honest reaction from head coach Doc Rivers.
Milwaukee Bucks News: Damian Lillard Missed Sunday’s Shootaround
Speaking to reporters ahead of Sunday’s tip-off, Rivers was shed a bit of light on Lillard’s injury status. When asked what Dame was able to do in anything during shootaround, the tenured shot-caller had this to say:
“Nothing. (laughs) No, he did treatment. We kept him back, he didn’t go to the shootaround,” Rivers said, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
It’s nice to see Rivers still in a bit of a jovial mood, but there’s no denying that the Bucks are facing a significantly tough dilemma here.
Rivers refused to divulge any details regarding Lillard’s injury other than the fact that an MRI revealed some sort of Achilles injury. However, the one-time NBA champion coach made it clear that the Bucks have NOT shut Dame down for the remainder of the series:
Doc Rivers told reporters that the MRI results for Damian Lillard revealed there was "Achilles stuff, but that's as far as I'll go."
Rivers said that they are not shutting down Lillard for the series though. https://t.co/V3VD01dyeK
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) April 28, 2024
At this point, the Bucks are remaining optimistic that they will get both Lillard and Giannis back for Game 5 in Indiana on Tuesday.
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