GAME DAY PREVIEW AND INJURY REPORT: Damian Lillard returns to Portland as the Milwaukee Bucks take on the Blazers

Damian Lillard will be playing his first game in Portland since being traded to Milwaukee.

Matthew Dugandzic | Jan 31, 2024

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Milwaukee Bucks

Damian Lillard returns to his old stomping grounds as the Milwaukee Bucks battle the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.

Lillard will be playing for the first time in Portland since he was traded to the Bucks in the offseason. Dame was Portland's sixth overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, but the more than a decade-long partnership ended when he was traded to the Bucks shortly before the season started.

“I loved the organization. I loved everybody I went to work with every day. And I think what made it the hardest is it wasn’t a wasn’t a broken relationship."

Dame is ready for his return to Portland with the Bucks. #FearTheDeer
— Bally Sports Wisconsin (@BallySportWI) January 31, 2024

The Bucks and the Blazers are playing for the second time this season. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Lillard combined for 64 points to help the Bucks erase a 26-point deficit and defeat the Blazers in their first meeting on November 26th, 108-102.

Dame's rollercoaster ride

Lillard's first season with the Bucks has been up and down. Dame is averaging 25.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and a team-best 6.8 assists this season, which has already seen him score below 20 points in 12 games.

"What made it the hardest is it wasn't a broken relationship...I come back with love"

Damian Lillard on returning to Portland for the first time since the trade.

"Being back in the building, being back home, I'm excited to play the game. I'm going to play free"@Dame_Lillard pic.twitter.com/Y9StRsSRzf
— Orlando Sanchez (@orlandokgw) January 30, 2024

Dame scored less than 10 points twice this season, scoring just five points in Milwaukee's 101-124 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on November 17th and six points in a 110-127 defeat to the Atlanta Hawks on November 29th.

Despite Lillard's rough stretches, the Bucks are still 32-15 in the season, good for second place in the Eastern Conference. Giannis is leading the Bucks in scoring with 31 points and rebounding with 11.7 boards a night.

Milwaukee is coming off a 107-113 loss to the Denver Nuggets, a defeat that spoiled the debut of coach Doc Rivers.

Portland parades a 14-33 record and is fresh from a 130-04 win over the Philadelphia Sixers.

SC🥽T

▫️ 22 PTS (20 in 4th)
▫️ 4 AST
▫️ 2 STL pic.twitter.com/k2UJyJLTh6
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) January 30, 2024

Injury report

Milwaukee has a clean injury list with no players on the injured list.

Shaedon Sharpe (abdomen), Moses Brown (shoulder), and Robert Williams III (knee) are out for the Blazers.

What we learned from the Milwaukee Bucks' loss to the Denver Nuggets

Published Jan 31, 2024

MATTHEW DUGANDZIC

Matthew finished his bachelor's degree in Economics (Management) at the University of Split and got his master's degree in the same field at the University of Zadar. Whether it is playing the game as an undersized 6'3'' power forward or simply watching it, Matthew can't get enough of it. After all, he has been an avid NBA fan since the 2000s. But don't get him wrong, as Matthew still loves the old-school NBA and is a true student of the game. From on-court moments to off-court stuff, whether it's about the stars of modern-day basketball or legends of the game, Matthew covers every category of the NBA world and basketball in general, as long as it makes for an engaging and exciting story.