Damian Lillard remains out indefinitely due to deep vein thrombosis in his right calf, but Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers told reporters Thursday that the team is more optimistic about him returning this season after a “great report the other day,” via ESPN’s Tim MacMahon and The Athletic’s Eric Nehm.
“We have much more hope today than we did three days ago, I can tell you that,” Rivers said before the Bucks’ 126-113 win against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday. “And so we’re going to take everything that we can do to see if there’s a way we can get him back.”
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Sam Quinn
Lillard has missed Milwaukee’s last eight games. Before the team flew to Philadelphia, Rivers told reporters that the star guard might be on the road trip, but that didn’t end up happening.
“‘Why mess with it?’ was our thing, when flying or anything could affect that,” Rivers said.
The Bucks have gone 4-4 in this stretch without Lillard, and they are 42-34 on the season, fifth in the Eastern Conference and three games behind the fourth-place Indiana Pacers. The sixth-place Detroit Pistons are also 42-34, and the last two games of Milwaukee’s regular season will be against Detroit.
As hopeful as the Bucks may be about Lillard making a comeback, Rivers said the team is focused on figuring out how to play without him, especially during the minutes in which Giannis Antetokounmpo is on the bench.
“That’s what we’re working on every day,” Rivers said, “and I haven’t been great at it yet, so we got work to do.”
Milwaukee will visit the Miami Heat on Saturday and the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday, then return home to host the Minnesota Timberwolves next Tuesday and the Pelicans next Thursday before the season-ending home-and-home with Detroit.
