With Giannis Antetokounmpo banged up, Milwaukee needs Lillard to elevate his game.
The Milwaukee Bucks will be missing their superstar for at least part of the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs. On Tuesday,for the opening of their series against the No. 6 seed Indiana Pacers . The Bucks need Damian Lillard to step up in his absence.
In other words the Milwaukee is not some titan of a team that is well-structured to withstand the loss of its best player. The Bucks got an especially bad draw for their first round opponent, too. They went 1-5 against the Pacers in the regular season. All that means the outlook is far from positive for Milwaukee. And that's why the team needs Damian Lillard more than ever.
There were times it went smoothly. Most of the time, though, it seemed like a struggle. Lillard got his counting stats, averaging 24.3 points and 7.0 assists per game. But he posted his lowest effective field goal percentage in nearly 10 years and saw a year-over-year drop in both three-point percentage and two-point percentage . It was common sense to think Lillard wouldn't score as many points while sharing the ball with the Antetokounmpo, but his efficiency was supposed to go up.
Lillard's postseason heroics are NBA legend at this point. He has hit two buzzer-beaters to eliminate opposing teams. Broadly speaking, he elevates his game come playoff time. In his last two postseason appearances, Lillard averaged 30.3 points per game while shooting a whopping 43.2% from three on 11.1 attempts per game. The lack of deep postseason runs are glaring on the point guard's resume, but his individual performance has rarely been called into question.
NBA Damian Lillard Milwaukee Bucks Indiana Pacers
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