Bucks star Damian Lillard's status for playoffs in question after blood clot diagnosis
With roughly a month until the NBA playoffs begin, the Milwaukee Bucks got rough news regarding one of their star players.
The team announced Tuesday that Damian Lillard has been diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis — a blood clot — in his right calf.
The diagnosis will keep Lillard out indefinitely.
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The Bucks provided the update on the seven-time all-NBA guard’s status without offering a target date for his potential return. Lillard has missed the Bucks’ last three contests and already has been ruled out for their Wednesday game at Denver.
"Damian’s health is our No. 1 priority," Bucks general manager Jon Horst said in a statement. "We will support him as he moves through this weekly process of strict criteria to ensure that it is safe for him to return to play. Doctors have indicated that his situation is very unlikely to occur again. We are thankful that this was identified and medicated quickly, which helps with the recovery."
Lillard has been taking blood-thinning medication, which has stabilized the blood clot, ESPN noted.
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Sadly for the Bucks, they may have some sort of hint on how much time Lillard will miss. San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama was diagnosed with a blood clot in his shoulder last month, and the Spurs promptly ruled him out for the rest of the season.
It should be noted that San Antonio wasn't exactly fighting for a playoff spot when Wembanyama's diagnosis came. Milwaukee is currently the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks and fellow division mates in the Pacers and Pistons are all within 2.5 games of each other in the standings, with Indiana the four-seed and Detroit sitting in sixth.
Lillard is in his second season in Milwaukee after spending his first 11 seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers. He's averaging 24.9 points and 7.1 assists per game, up to par with his career statistics.
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