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Damian Lillard Reportedly Won't Need Surgery on Knee Injury After Leaving Bubble
August 27, 2020
Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard won't require surgery on his injured knee, according to The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears.
The Blazers announced early Thursday morning that Lillard was leaving the NBA's Walt Disney World Resort campus to have his right knee evaluated. The team is unsure as to his availability for the remainder of the 2020 NBA playoffs.
Avoiding surgery would be good for Lillard's long-term outlook, but it might not mean much for Portland in the short term.
Players are quarantined for at least four days upon returning to the NBA bubble before they're allowed to rejoin their team on the court.
The Blazers trail the Los Angeles Lakers 3-1 in their first-round series, so their stay in Orlando, Florida, may not extend for much longer.
Game 5 was originally scheduled for Wednesday. However, the league postponed all three of the day's games after the Milwaukee Bucks declined to take the court against the Orlando Magic as a form of protest following the shooting of Jacob Blake.
Players held a meeting Wednesday night, during which Lakers star LeBron James and Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard advocated for shelving the entire playoffs, per Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
However, the players reportedly have decided to continue the postseason, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Wojnarowski reported games could resume as early as Friday.
According to Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes, James has since had a change of heart and "[relayed] it was in their best interest to finish out the season."
Assuming the Blazers are back in action this weekend, they'll have to fend off the top-seeded Lakers without their best player.