Doc Rivers’ Damian Lillard injury admission won’t please Bucks fans

The Milwaukee Bucks dropped Game 3 of their first round NBA Playoffs series against the Indiana Pacers, 121-118, to fall behind in the series 2-1. While the Bucks have been hoping for good news at some point regarding the injury status of Giannis Antetokounmpo, they may have another pressing issue to deal with. Damian Lillard suffered an injury scare in the first half and although he was able to return, Doc Rivers had a few worrisome words regarding Lillard’s potential health for this series as per Eric Nehm of The Athletic.

“I think it’s his Achilles again, so we’ll see,” Doc Rivers said. “Honestly, Dame was really struggling. In the overtime, he literally said, ‘I’ll be the decoy. I just can’t go as far as the explosion.’ So I thought Dame just being out there was huge for us.”

Damian Lillard first suffered the injury in the first quarter after landing awkwardly after going up for a layup. While he exited the game and went back to the locker room, he was able to return to the game. He finished with 28 points, one rebound, eight assists and three steals.

But he clearly was not himself following the injury although he did hit a few big shots as the Bucks rallied back from being down double digits. He shot only 6-20 from the field and was 4-12 from the three point line although he did shoot 12-12 from the free throw line.

The Bucks injury issues continue to pile up in the NBA Playoffs

Lillard’s injury is just the latest in the ongoing health issues the Bucks have had since the start of the NBA Playoffs. It began at the tail end of the regular season when Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a calf injury that kept him out of the final three games of the regular season. He’s missed the first three games of the first round and his status for the rest of the series is in doubt.