Pacers Could Now Face Damian Lillard in Postseason Following Latest Injury Update

The Indiana Pacers were dealt a rude awakening on Thursday morning.

ESPN's Shams Charania revealed that the Milwaukee Bucks' second-best player, nine-time All-Star point guard Damian Lillard, has been surprisingly cleared of the blood clot in his right calf. He has also stopped taking his blood-thinning medication that would have precluded his playing.

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Although he will miss the first contest of Milwaukee's 4-5 playoff series against Indiana, Charania revealed that he will work towards returning to the series at some point.

Amazing: Milwaukee's Damian Lillard has been cleared of his deep vein thrombosis and is no longer on blood-thinning medication, sources tell ESPN. Lillard is out for Game 1 Saturday against Indiana and will have a period of time to resume contact workouts and ramp up for return. pic.twitter.com/fbeQg0mvsn
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 17, 2025

Charania notes that Lillard will need time to ramp up before hitting the hardwood, and will have to build towards taking contact in his workouts.

Without Lillard, Milwaukee has virtually no shot of vanquishing Indiana — despite fielding the best player in the series, eight-time All-NBA superstar power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.

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As for Lillard, this represents a borderline unprecedented turnaround from a deep vein thrombosis.

Hall of Fame former Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors superstar power forward Chris Bosh saw his career end after suffering a pair of blood clots in successive seasons.

Remarkable and historic development to clear from the blood clot in just over 3 weeks. Doctors have told Bucks officials this recovery has never been seen before – but occurred due to early treatment, detection, and specialists working on Lillard even before formal diagnosis. https://t.co/1AOqon1Ahm
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 17, 2025

21-year-old All-Star San Antonio Spurs center Victory Wembanyama was ruled out for the year after incurring his own blood clot this past February.

Lillard, who was only diagnosed in March, has made a stunningly rapid recovery from what is truly a scary ailment.

Without Lillard, Milwaukee head coach Doc Rivers has leaned on Ryan Rollins as his fill-in starter. Reserve guard Kevin Porter Jr., however, has been the most critical backcourt creator for the Bucks.

Since Lillard went down on March 18, Porter has been averaging an encouraging 14.3 points on .500/.378/.851 shooting splits, 4.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.5 steals a night. He's a great downhill offensive initiator, although his 3-point shooting this year has been inconsistent (31.1 percent overall). Rollins is a solid defender, but lacks Porter's scoring acumen.

Lillard, however, is an absolute superstar, and could prove to be a major fly in the ointment for Indiana's playoff aspirations. The 6-foot-2 Weber State product averaged 24.9 points on .448/.376/.921 shooting splits, 7.1 assists, and 4.7 rebounds a night.

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For more news and notes on the Indiana Pacers, head on over to Indiana Pacers on SI.