What happened to Damian Lillard? NBA insider shares devastating update on Bucks star's health scare

Damian Lillard sat out the last three games due to right calf soreness. The Milwaukee Bucks point guard last played on Mar. 18 in his team’s 104-93 loss to the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco. Ahead of the Bucks’ showdown with the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, Chris Haynes gave the latest on Dame Time.

The NBA Insider reported on X (formerly Twitter):

“Breaking: Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard will be out indefinitely after being diagnosed with a blood clot in his right calf, league sources tell me.”

The news could not be more unfortunate for the Milwaukee Bucks, who are battling for playoff positioning. Without Lillard, the Bucks (40-31) will try to overtake the Indiana Pacers (42-29) for the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Bucks, with 11 game left in the regular season, will also try to hold on to an automatic playoff spot. They are only five games ahead of the Atlanta Hawks (35-36) who sit at No. 7 in the standings. Milwaukee will go through the play-in tournament if it falls below No. 6.

Damian Lillard is the second player in the NBA who was diagnosed with a blood clot this season. The San Antonio Spurs announced after the All-Star break that they would shut down Victor Wembanyama due to a blod clot in his right shoulder. Lillard might be on the same path as the Frenchman.

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The Milwaukee Bucks will lean even more on Giannis Antetokounmpo after the Damian Lillard condition

Giannis Antetokounmpo has been carrying a heavy load during Damian Lillard's absence. In the Milwaukee Bucks' last three games without the All-Star forward, the two-time MVP has averaged 30.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per contest. The Bucks have no choice but to keep leaning hard on him now that Lillard has been diagnosed with a blood clot.

The Bucks traded Khris Middleton for Kyle Kuzma and lost Lillard to a scary condition. Without two of their best shooters, Doc Rivers might have to adjust his strategy to help The Greek Freak.

Kuzma is averaging 14.1 PPG since arriving before the trade deadline. The former Wizard, however, is making just 42.9% of his shots, including a ghastly 29.4% from behind the arc. How Rivers can re-jigger the roster to open the floor for Antetokounmpo will be interesting to see.