The Milwaukee Bucks (11-4) and Portland Trailblazers (10-6) will face off in Milwaukee on Monday night. Both teams have lost three of their last five games, and both teams are dealing with some significant injuries. The Bucks, of course, will be without Khris Middleton and Joe Ingles. In addition, Wes Matthews has already been listed as out. The Trailblazers, like the Bucks, will be without one of their most important players, Damian Lillard following a muscle injury. Shams Charania of The Athletic broke the news on Twitter:
Trail Blazers say Damian Lillard has a Grade 1 strain of the soleus muscle in the right lower leg and will be re-evaluated in one to two weeks.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 21, 2022
In case anyone is curious, the soleus is one of the two main muscles in a person’s calf. It runs from the knee to the heel, and further injury to it could lead to an Achilles injury.
Damian Lillard in 2022
The Portland Trailblazers must be hopeful that the latest Damian Lillard injury will not keep him out for long. He was only able to play in 29 games last season due to abdominal and hamstring injuries. This season, Lillard is back to his old self. He is averaging 26.3 points, 7.0 assists, and 4.3 rebounds in 11 games this year. To be sure, the NBA as a whole is more fun when Lillard is healthy. He is a dynamic player whose loyalty to the Portland organization is much like that of Giannis Antetokounmpo to Milwaukee.
A Big Name Missing from the Bucks Injury Report
As mentioned that in addition to the Damian Lillard injury for the Trailblazers, the Bucks have already listed Khris Middleton and Wes Matthews out for the game against Portland. Additionally, Joe Ingles is still recovering from his torn ACL. However, Pat Connaughton was not named on the injury report at all.
Bucks updated Injury Report
Khris Middleton-Out
Joe Ingles-Out
Wes Mathews-OutPat Connaughton was not listed 👀
— Jake Reetz (@jajareetz) November 21, 2022
Of course, many believed that Pat Connaughton was going to make his season debut last week. After all, the Bucks listed him as “probable” against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Unfortunately, they downgraded him to “out” at the last minute and also did not play against Philadelphia. Hopefully, he is able to play his first game of 2022 against Portland. With the Damian Lillard injury, the Bucks would have a significant advantage if Connaughton is active.
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