Damian Lillard's injury recovery gets massive update ahead of playoffs

The Milwaukee Bucks have persevered through their early-season struggles and Damian Lillard's absence. The nine-time NBA All-Star last played on March 18, when he was sidelined due to deep vein thrombosis, which is a blood clot, on his right calf.

Despite his absence, the Bucks secured the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. While they will start the playoffs without their star, a potential return is not out of the question.

According to NBA insider Shams Charania, the Bucks are optimistic that he'll be back in action during their pursuit of a championship.

The Bucks will face the fourth-seeded Indiana Pacers in the opening round. There has been no official announcement on whether Lillard will be back in the first round, and there is no clear timetable for a return just yet.

After it was announced that Lillard had a blood clot, the Bucks' postseason hopes came into question. They won their first two games following that announcement, but then they lost four straight. However, they turned things around by winning seven straight games.

They have one more regular season game against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.

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Kevin Porter Jr. and Ryan Rollins have stepped up in Damian Lillard's absence

Losing a star of Damian Lillard's caliber is the kind of mishap that could seriously hurt a team. However, the Milwaukee Bucks have remained on course despite his absence. Aside from Giannis Antetokounmpo's continued stellar play, the Bucks also have two roleplayers who have stepped up — Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr.

Since Lillard was sidelined, Rollins was called on to become a starter in all but two games. Since then, he has averaged 10.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.1 steals. Prior to March 20, he puts up 4.8 ppg, 1.6 rpg and 1.2 apg.

He never had a 20-point game but has had two since being named a starter. He scored 20 against the New York Knicks on March 28 and 23 against the Phoenix Suns on April 1.

Similarly, Porter Jr.'s production has also increased during this stretch. Before March 20, his numbers were 9.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.1 apg and 1.0 spg. After Lillard's blood clot diagnosis, those numbers climbed to 14.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.5 steals.

Porter Jr. mostly came off the bench in this period except for two games. He started on March 26 against the Denver Nuggets and on April 6 against the New Orleans Pelicans — the two games that Rollins didn't start in.