Milwaukee Bucks point guard Damian Lillard told reporters that he expects to play in tonight’s game against the Indiana Pacers after missing over a month of game action due to a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in his right calf. This will be Lillard’s first start since March 18th, one week before he was diagnosed with DVT.

“I’m playing,” Lillard said this morning after the team’s shootaround. “Not knowing if I was going to be able to come back this season, I was able to lift, which was good, I was able to keep my body strong. But it was weeks and weeks and weeks before they even allowed me to jump and do stuff on the court.”

Injury Update: Damian Lillard is AVAILABLE for tonight’s game at Indiana.

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) April 22, 2025

After being diagnosed with blood clots and ruled out indefinitely on March 25th, Lillard’s deep vein thrombosis was cleared on April 17th, and he was taken off blood thinners, allowing him to resume practicing. Unfortunately, he missed Milwaukee’s first playoff game, a 117-98 road loss on April 19th.

Game Two of the Pacers-Bucks series is scheduled to tip off tonight at 7:00 p.m. EDT.

Why did the Bucks perform so poorly in Game One?

In my preview of the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs, I said that Damian Lillard’s presence would be critical to the Bucks’ success. In fact, I stated that the Bucks would flat-out lose this series if Dame wasn’t able to play at all. Now that Lillard is returning, I think there’s a strong chance the Bucks can turn things around.

Game One of this series was an absolute blowout. The Bucks took an early 6-3 lead, but the Pacers went on a 12-2 run and never looked back, eventually extending their lead to 26 points during the third quarter. Milwaukee closed the gap and cut the lead to 12 in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late, as Indy would hold on for the 19-point win.

Tony Snell, you can finally rest. We got Kyle Kuzma now 😭 pic.twitter.com/yRCWji0BZh

— Kyrie Center (@kyriecenterig) April 19, 2025

There are many reasons why the Bucks lost that game in such an embarrassing fashion. Some of it has to do with their head coach, Glenn Rivers, or as he’s so often called, “Doc” Rivers. However, I don’t know any licensed doctors who have had as many catastrophic career failures as “Doc” Rivers, so I will continue to call him Glenn until he proves he can win anything meaningful outside of his lone championship in 2008, which he fell backward into. Honestly, that Boston Celtics team could’ve won with a Division III college basketball coach leading them. Rivers’ inability to make meaningful halftime adjustments, coupled with his disastrous starting lineup, started the Bucks off on the wrong foot.

They were also hurt by their number-three scoring option (Kyle Kuzma) being held to zero points, zero rebounds, zero assists, zero steals, and zero blocks. That’s right! Kuzma had a Tony Snell game, in the playoffs of all places! On top of that, Bobby Portis, Taurean Prince, and Brook Lopez, who averaged 35.1 points per game combined during the regular season, put up 13 total points in Game One. Between the starting lineup being terrible and role players failing to meet expectations, it was clear the Bucks missed Lillard.

Damian Lillard to the rescue?

Thankfully for Milwaukee, it’s not too late to turn things around. I would even go as far as to say that in professional sports, Game One victories are the least important when it comes to the playoffs. This is especially true for the Bucks, who have only two Game One wins in their last seven playoff series victories.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was as good as an NBA superstar can be when they’re not getting support from other starters. He had 36 points and 12 rebounds on a night when he shot 60.9% from the field. He only had one assist, but that’s to be expected when your teammates shoot 34.4% from the field and 25.7% from three.

“Damian Lillard looked [Tyrese Haliburton] in the face and said, ‘I’ma bust yo ass.'” 😤 @stephenasmith is happy about Dame being cleared to play in Bucks-Pacers Game 2 👀 pic.twitter.com/y2MLET87ow

— First Take (@FirstTake) April 22, 2025

It was painfully obvious that the Bucks needed a number-two scoring threat in Game One. Fortunately for Milwaukee, that’s exactly why they added Damian Lillard to the roster two years ago. It’s not surprising that Lillard’s 24.9 points per game would’ve been enough to push the Bucks past the Pacers 123-117. Even if Lillard played below his averages and only scored 20 points, that would’ve been good enough to secure a 118-117 victory. Of course, this is simply hypothetical and based on statistics, which do not actually dictate how a game will play out. Regardless, I still think it’s a fair assumption that Game One would’ve been much closer with Dame on the court.

It’s too early to determine what type of impact Lillard’s return will have on the series. Maybe his presence will be the catalyst that the Bucks’ offense needs to get over Indy. Then again, he could be rusty, and the Bucks will still lose Game Two, albeit in a closer fashion. I can’t say how the rest of the series will unfold, but I do feel confident in picking the Bucks to win a close one tonight to tie things up at one game apiece. This is a must-win game for Milwaukee because they’ll be in big trouble if they’re unable to pull off the victory tonight.