Damian Lillard and the Bucks were hit the sobering reality of the NBA playoffs.
The Milwaukee Bucks created huge expectations of themselves when they swung for the fences and pulled off a blockbuster trade for Damian Lillard. However, the Bucks’ 2023-24 season is over in May. On Thursday night, the Bucks saw their season come to an end after suffering a 120-98 defeat in Game 6 of their first-round series against the Indiana Pacers, putting a close to what was a disappointing first year for Lillard in the Cream City.
In the end, the Bucks couldn’t overcome the herculean hurdle that the team’s injury woes posed in front of them. Lillard came to the same conclusion that availability may be the best ability come playoff time.
“When you get to the playoffs, the more healthy team is going to win,” Lillard said, per Tony East of Sports Illustrated.
It’s not too difficult to see where Damian Lillard is coming from, as health has been a crucial determining factor for a few of the first-round matchups in 2024 alone. The Bucks did not have Giannis Antetokounmpo for the entirety of the series due to a calf injury, and it’s always going to be a difficult task to overcome a good team like the Pacers without the team’s best player.
On the other side of the bracket, the Miami Heat stood little to no chance against the Boston Celtics as they didn’t have the services of both Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier. Meanwhile, in the Western Conference’s side of things, the New Orleans Pelicans looked toast without Zion Williamson, while the Los Angeles Clippers are inching closer towards another early vacation thanks in large part to Kawhi Leonard’s seemingly non-stop injury problems.
Even Damian Lillard himself dealt with a knock to his Achilles that kept him out for two games of the Bucks’ series against the Pacers before he returned for Game 6, only to suffer a 120-98 season-ending defeat.
Damian Lillard toughed it out for Game 6 despite Bucks’ defeat
There was much uncertainty surrounding Damian Lillard’s playing status for Game 6. But Lillard decided to feel out whether or not he could play on his questionable Achilles and came to the conclusion that he would much rather be out there for the Bucks in an elimination game on the road than to be a mere bystander, especially when he could reasonably perform near or at his best without fear of aggravating the injury.
“I did my pregame shooting and then I think just being in the building, seeing all the t-shirts on the chairs, I started moving around a little bit and I was just like, ‘F**k it. I’m going to play.’ Let’s just do it. This is it. There’s no guarantees that we’re going to make it back home and I want to be out there, so that was it,” Lillard said in his postgame presser, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
The Bucks star had to undergo round-the-clock treatment to alleviate the pain on his Achilles. It was necessary for him to do so, as he said that he “didn’t feel good” when he went to the court. But Lillard wanted to leave it all on the line to at least give him some peace of mind even though his return ended in defeat for the Bucks.
“I don’t think I would have slept well or went into the summer feeling good about much if I felt like I let the team go out there and me not at least try,” Lillard added.
