Blazers' Damian Lillard Reportedly Out 1-2 Weeks with Calf Injury

Portland Trail Blazers superstar guard Damian Lillard is going to miss at least one to two weeks.

On Thursday, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported Lillard has been diagnosed with a calf strain. He will be re-evaluated in one to two weeks.

Lillard suffered the injury midway through the third quarter of Wednesday's loss to the Miami Heat. He told reporters after the game that he wasn't concerned about it being a significant issue.

"It wasn't nothing that I was overly concerned with," Lillard said. "I just know that it wouldn't make sense to try and push through it in the fifth game of the season."

The 32-year-old veteran is in the midst of his 11th NBA season, all of which have been spent with the Blazers. In five games so far this season, Lillard is averaging 31.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists.

Lillard is a six-time All-Star and six-time All-NBA selection. He also won the 2012-13 NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

The former Weber State standout has improved with almost every passing year in the league, although he entered the 2022-23 campaign coming off the greatest adversity he had ever faced during his career. Lillard was limited to only 29 games last season due to an abdominal injury that required surgery, and the Blazers went 27-55 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2013.

While Lillard playing great out of the gates this season, the Blazers will now have to make do without him at least for the next few games. Lillard is the straw that stirs the drink in Portland, and losing him for any period of time could be disastrous for the Blazers' playoff aspirations.

Anfernee Simons became the Blazers' go-to scorer last season when Lillard was out last season, and that will likely be the case again. Simons has moved into the starting lineup this year and is averaging 18.6 points on 41.2 percent shooting.

The Blazers can also lean more heavily on Jerami Grant and Josh Hart, while rookie guard Shaedon Sharpe could receive a huge uptick in playing time.

The Blazers are off to a 4-1 start this season, but losing Lillard for any length of time takes away the driving force of their offense. Head coach Chauncey Billups should have enough depth to keep his team afloat until his superstar point guard returns.