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Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard will be out for the next 1-2 weeks with a right calf strain, the team confirmed on Thursday. On Wednesday, Lillard had to leave the Blazers’ game against the Miami Heat during the third quarter because of the injury.
Lillard said his calf was “a little bit tight, like a little bit irritated” before the game, but it was “nothing that I hadn’t felt before,” via blazers.com’s Casey Holdahl. That changed after he made a 3-pointer about halfway through the third quarter.
From blazers.com:
“It felt the same to start the third and on the last shot that I made, when I rose up real quick, I just felt it get real tight,” said Lillard. “Went back on defense just to see how it would feel, it felt fine running up the court and then the next time I did another move, I tried to stop and I just felt how tight it was. It wasn’t like something happened, it was just like let me get it off the. court and see what’s going on.
“It wasn’t nothing I was overly concerned with, I just knew it wouldn’t make sense to try to push through it in the fifth game of the season.”
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While Lillard was adamant that the injury wasn’t serious, he also noted that he would likely sit out Friday’s game versus the Rockets, which will be Portland’s fourth game in six days. The Trail Blazers have four days off after Friday’s contest, giving him nearly a full week to heal before they host the Grizzlies in the last game of a four-game homestand on November 2.
“Now I’ve got to be smart,” said Lillard. “Just make sure I’m getting a couple treatment sessions in each day and just try to stretch it. Probably not going to be playing in that game Friday, that’ll give me six days of maybe two sessions, some days three sessions some other days, try to be ready for (Memphis) but we’ll see.”
In the four games that preceded the 119-98 loss against the Heat, Lillard averaged 33.3 points, 5.3 assists and 5.5 rebounds. In related news, Portland started the season 4-0.
The Blazers will host Houston on Friday, then have a few days off before hosting Memphis next Wednesday. They will then visit Phoenix for a back-to-back next Friday and Saturday.
Lillard, who missed most of last season, said Wednesday that his perspective has changed and he wants to be in it for the long haul, adding that he hasn’t “felt this good since my second or third year.”
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