Milwaukee Bucks All-Star point guard Damian Lillard sent a strong message to the rest of the team after they lost their leader Giannis Antetokounmpo to a calf injury.
“We got to do what we got to do as a team to rally around him and just continue to finish it out strong,” Lillard told reporters after Antetokounmpo’s injury dampened their 104-91 rout of the top seed Boston Celtics on April 9. “Hopefully, he’ll be able to heal [by playoffs] but right now we just got to finish the job.”
The Bucks have three games left in the regular season beginning Wednesday’s home game against the Orlando Magic, who only trails behind them by two games for the No. 2 seed.
Milwaukee is 3-3 with Lillard playing without Antetokounmpo in the lineup this season. But they have lost six of their last seven before beating the Celtics.
Antetokoumpo crumpled into the floor with a non-contact lower leg injury late in the third quarter. After the Bucks called timeout, Lillard quickly went to Antetokounmpo with a concerned look.
“Any time you see one of your teammates go down, it’s I think a real level of concern,” Lillard said. “We spend a lot of time around each other, more than we would our families. I think that was the No. 1 thing. And then for it to be your best player, the most important part of our team, at this point in the season, it was like an, ‘Oh, [expletive]’ moment, especially because there was nobody else around.”
But Lillard was encouraged to see Antetokounmpo go back to the locker room in his own power.
“To see him just be able to even walk off on his own, I think that showed me a lot,” Lillard said. “Obviously, that was encouraging to see. You just want him to get healthy.”
Damian Lillard Knew What Giannis Antetokounmpo Felt
Lillard was more optimistic when he learned about the initial diagnosis of his teammate’s injury — soleus strain.
It is the same injury that kept Lillard out for 15 days and seven games while he was still in Portland last season.
He knew what Antetokounmpo felt.
“It hurt,” Lillard shared of his own ordeal. “When I did, it’s usually I’m able to walk things off. I have a high pain tolerance. But when I started walking [after the injury], it was just that painful. It’s like the muscle just can’t handle it.
Once it calmed down, you kind of figured out a way to kind of limp around it. But it’s a weird feeling but hearing that [as Antetokounmpo’s injury], I know that feeling and also as somebody who experienced that, if that’s what it is, it’s that’s also encouraging.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Possible Return
Antetokounmpo is likely done for the regular season, according to sports injury expert and certified athletic trainer Jeff Stotts.
“Sounds like he has a low-grade calf strain (likely involving the soleus). That would suggest a two-week absence is likely. There will be an elevated risk for recurrence or aggravation for the immediate future as well,” Stotts told Heavy Sports after The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported the MRI showed no structural damage on the Achilles.
Fortunately for the Bucks, they have already clinched a playoff berth and will skip the play-in tournament. The playoffs will not begin until April 20, buying more time for Antetokounmpo to recover just in time for the first round.
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Damian Lillard Sends Strong Message to Bucks After Losing Giannis Antetokounmpo