Damian Lillard Out Indefinitely with Blood Clot in Calf amid Bucks' NBA Playoff Push

An already frustrating season for the Milwaukee Bucks took another turn after guard Damian Lillard was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. He is out indefinitely.

According to The Athletic's Eric Nehm and Sam Amick, "there is a great deal of optimism" that Lillard will return this season.

Nehm and Amick added that concern regarding Lillard's ailment escalated on Thursday and he continued to feel discomfort in his calf with "pain beyond the typical calf strain."

"A rigorous discovery process began from there, with Lillard eventually visiting with five of the top hematologists in the United States, either in person (including at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix on Tuesday) or via Zoom," Nehm and Amick wrote. "Each of the specialists received his MRIs and sonograms as part of the process. Lillard began taking blood thinners on Friday, the source said, adding that there are encouraging signs that the treatment is working well."

Lillard released a statement to NBA insider Chris Haynes after the news broke.

Lillard has already sat three straight contests due to the issue.

Earlier this season, Lillard missed three games in November due to a concussion. He also sat four straight games in December (two due to a right calf strain and then two more because of an illness).

Lillard previously suffered right calf injuries a few years ago when he played for the Portland Trail Blazers, per Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

"Lillard suffered two strains to that calf (including the soleus muscle, specifically) early in the 2022 season while he was with Portland, which forced him to miss a total of 10 games over a total of three weeks," Owczarski wrote.

The eight-time All-Star is averaging 24.9 points on 44.8 percent shooting, including 37.6 percent on threes, and dishing out 7.1 assists per contest. All of those are right around his career averages.

The Bucks are currently 40-31, good enough for fifth in the Eastern Conference. They're almost assured of a playoff spot at this point without needing to qualify via the play-in, with the seventh-place Atlanta Hawks five games back with 10 games to go.

But we're more than a year removed from the Lillard trade and we're still waiting for the Bucks to reach the heights they thought they could attain by pairing him with Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Removing Lillard from the lineup for any stretch of time just shows how thin the roster has become behind him and Giannis.

Without Lillard, the Bucks have rolled with a lineup featuring Ryan Rollins in his place alongside Antetokounmpo, Kyle Kuzma, Taurean Prince and Brook Lopez. Milwaukee has then used a three-man bench with Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr. and A.J. Green.