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The Milwaukee Bucks' playoff run certainly didn't get off to the start that they were hoping for as the Indiana Pacers blew them out 117-98 in Indianapolis in Game 1 of the first round on Saturday. For much of the day, it was Giannis Antetokounmpo against the world as Damian Lillard sat out while recovering from his blood clot injury.
Thankfully for Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, Saturday may be the last time that he has to go at it alone in this series. Lillard is nearing a return from his injury and has been upgraded to questionable for Game 2 on Tuesday night, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes.
“Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard has been upgraded to questionable for Game 2 vs the Indiana Pacers,” Haynes reported on X, formerly Twitter.
Having Lillard back would be a huge boost for the Bucks considering the state of their rotation around Antetokounmpo. Doc Rivers struggled to settle on a consistent lineup in Game 1 after starting Ryan Rollins at point guard. AJ Green also played a lot of minutes and made five 3-pointers in the loss, but he isn't the same type of scorer that Lillard is.
The former Trail Blazers star isn't quite the same level of superstar that he was during his time in Portland, but he is still the kind of second star that can give the Bucks some more juice on offense and can carry the team for stretches while Giannis is on the bench.
Lillard played in 58 games during the regular season and scored 24.9 points per game while tacking on 7.1 assists a night. Most importantly for this Bucks group, he shot better than 37% from 3-point range on nine attempts per game, which is a skill that Milwaukee desperately needs right now.
The rest of the Bucks roster didn't show up to play around Antetokounmpo — who finished with 36 points and 12 rebounds in Game 1 — largely leading to the Bucks' demise. Kyle Kuzma pulled a Tony Snell and did not record a stat outside a couple of missed shots and a few fouls in 22 minutes.
The Pacers certainly have the upper hand in this series and still have home-court advantage. However, the return of Lillard could be enough to swing it in the Bucks' favor.
