How Damian Lillard's blood clot issue throws another wrench at Giannis, Bucks' future

03/26/2025 05:13 PM

As long as Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo are on the floor, the Milwaukee Bucks will have a chance to win any game they play. Although the Bucks have struggled at times nearing the end of the regular season, this team has still been viewed as a contender in the Eastern Conference. This top-scoring duo in Milwaukee has taken a massive hit, though, as Lillard is out indefinitely after being diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in his right calf.

“It's unfortunate that something outside of my control would come up," Lillard said in a statement to NBA insider Chris Haynes after the team’s announcement. “Along with the Bucks' medical staff, our priorities are to protect my health and safety. As much as I love basketball, I need to be there for my kids and my family. I'm grateful the Bucks acted quickly on this. They've been supportive and proactive throughout this process. I look forward to moving past this and continuing my career."

The good news for Lillard is that the Bucks announced he is on a blood-thinning medication that has stabilized and decreased the clot. Dame is expected to fully recovery and resume basketball activities, yet his absence creates major concerns for this franchise with only 11 games remaining before the postseason.

Without Lillard on the court this season, the Bucks have gone 8-5. Since the trade deadline, when Milwaukee dealt Khris Middleton to the Washington Wizards for Kyle Kuzma, this team has gone 4-1 with Lillard sidelined. In this span, the Bucks have picked up key wins over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers, and Sacramento Kings.

Their only loss without Lillard in this span was on Monday night on the road against the Phoenix Suns, as Devin Booker hit a game-winning jumper with 2.1 seconds left. After the game, Giannis spoke about the team’s offense without Lillard and what needs to change moving forward.

“Really, I don’t care about offense,” Antetokounmpo said in the locker room after the loss in Phoenix. “I don’t care about offense because we can score the ball and still win the game. We have to play defense. This group, we have time. We have 11 games left. We have time to keep on playing together, you know, keep on figuring out how we want to play with one another, each other's spots.

“I think, as a team, we just gotta focus on our mentality of competing for 48 minutes because that's the only way we have a chance.”

Lillard’s situation is not exactly like Victor Wembanyama’s where the Bucks are shutting their star guard down for the remainder of the year. While this blood clot issue is serious, it is certainly less significant than that of the Spurs star’s clot since his was found in the shoulder and closer to the heart. Not to mention, Lillard has been taking blood thinners that have already made a significant, positive impact.

The Bucks are hopeful that Dame will return this season. However, there is no set timeframe for when he will resume individual activities and training. All that has been said about Lillard’s situation is that there is a “weekly process of strict criteria.” It is unlikely any further updates will be provided on Lillard’s status by the team before the conclusion of the regular season on April 13.

It is hard to imagine Lillard could be cleared to play and work his way back behind the scenes sometime over the final three weeks of the regular season. If he is to return, it’s much more likely he will do so in the playoffs, which leads to major questions about Doc Rivers’ rotations without Dame.

There is no replacing Lillard. He is a one-of-a-kind talent, and outside of Antetokounmpo, the Bucks don’t have another All-Star player who can step up to fill this void. Instead, Milwaukee must turn to a collective of players to lift the burden off Giannis’ back.

Bucks’ identity without Lillard

As important of a player as Lillard is for the Bucks and their championship hopes, this team has found a level of success without the All-Star guard. Although Giannis has led the way for this team all season, he was not the sole reason why Milwaukee claimed four wins in their last five games without Lillard.

When the Bucks picked up a huge 103-101 win over the Timberwolves on Feb. 12 right before the All-Star break, it was a collective focus on team defense that reigned supreme. Giannis didn’t play in this game, resulting in Kyle Kuzma, Gary Trent Jr., and Kevin Porter Jr. combining for 51 points on 19-of-38 (50 percent) shooting.

The next win without Lillard came on Feb. 21 against the Washington Wizards, a game the Bucks won 104-101. These three players stepped up again, as did Ryan Rollins with 15 points, four rebounds, and four assists.

Milwaukee’s two most recent wins without Dame came on Thursday and Saturday against the Lakers and Kings, respectively. Antetokounmpo had 60 combined points and 24 combined rebounds over these two games, but it was Kuzma and Trent Jr. combining to score 43 points against the Lakers that stood out. Then, against the Kings, Porter Jr. stepped up with 18 points and six assists off the bench.

While nobody can do what Lillard does next to Antetokounmpo, the Bucks’ secondary talents have played surprisingly well and held their own against some strong opponents. Better yet, the Bucks’ defense as a whole has stepped up in their five most recent games without Lillard.

In this span where Milwaukee has gone 4-1 without Lillard, the team is allowing just 101.4 points per game to their opponents. It is also worth mentioning that all of these games came on the road, where the Bucks are 16-19 this season compared to being 23-12 in Fiserv Forum. The Bucks have also allowed an average of 112.9 points per game to their opponents on the road this year.

This team has been able to find success in recent games without Lillard simply because secondary talents like Kuzma, Trent Jr., Porter Jr., and Rollins have stepped up to make a difference not just on offense, but on defensive as well.

Kuzma is a lengthy forward who can hold his own on the perimeter and understands what it takes to win a championship. Trent has always been known for his defensive tenacity on the wing. Rollins and Porter are two younger guards who have been given new life in this league and are taking advantage of their opportunities to play in Milwaukee.

Most importantly, the Bucks are forming a new identity, one that allows them to play free and create havoc for their opponents.

“We can’t expect it’s going to be pretty. It’s not always going to be pretty,” Giannis continued in his postgame interview on Monday. “I’ve won a playoff series of 86-83 — beat Brooklyn at home 83 to 86. That’s not a pretty game. We’ve won games with 120 (points). We’ve won games 101. So, it’s not always going to be pretty, but we have a team that can muck up the game. We can be more physical and push guys out of their spots.

“As long as we can figure out a way to win the game, that’s all that matters.”

Identity crisis in East standings

Are the Bucks actual title contenders? The answer is simple to those who have watched this team play with Giannis performing at an MVP level all season. Then again, Milwaukee’s record as a whole is concerning, especially with Lillard sidelined.

Before Wednesday night’s game in Denver, one that the Bucks will play without Giannis due to a left foot sprain, this team finds themselves with a 40-31 record. After losing six of their last 10 games, Milwaukee has fallen to the 5-seed in the Eastern Conference and out of home-court advantage in a potential first-round playoff series.

The Bucks are two games behind the Indiana Pacers, who they own the season tiebreaker over, and tied with the Detroit Pistons in the standings for the East’s 5-seed. While Milwaukee has won the first two meetings against Detroit this year, these two teams will play back-to-back matchups to conclude the regular season, ultimately deciding who wins the tiebreaker.

While there is still plenty of time for the Bucks to regain control of the 4-seed in the East, they find themselves in the midst of an identity crisis in terms of plotting a path forward.

Should Milwaukee aim for a certain playoff series and opponent, not factoring home-court advantage? Will this team have enough offensive firepower to defeat Indiana, Detroit, or New York in a first-round series?

These are the two big questions facing the Bucks in the wake of Lillard’s blood clot issue. Rollins and Porter will do their best to fill Lillard’s void, but they won’t be able to find success unless the Bucks embrace a “mucky” defensive persona as Giannis alluded to.

With limited time remaining and no timetable on Lillard’s potential return, the Bucks are once again facing a doomsday scenario of being without one of their stars entering the postseason. Last season, it was Antetokounmpo’s calf injury that saw this team lose in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight season.

Now that Lillard is forced to watch from the sidelines or from the comforts of his home, Milwaukee is in danger of yet another early playoff exit. Should this happen, the floodgates will open about the futures of Giannis, Rivers, and the direction of this organization as a whole.

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