Bucks point guard Damian Lillard has entered the NBA’s concussion protocol and will miss Tuesday’s game vs. Toronto, the team announced (Twitter link via Tim Bontemps of ESPN).
Sources tell NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link) that Lillard was hit in the head near the end of the third quarter of Sunday’s game against Boston. After he experienced headaches and dizziness on Monday, testing confirmed he has a concussion.
It’s possible Lillard will be able to return in time for Wednesday’s game vs. Detroit, Haynes says, but he’ll have to pass all the tests in the concussion protocol in order to receive medical clearance. That process often takes at least a few days.
We have more from around the Central:
- The Cavaliers pushed their season-opening win streak to a dozen games with a win over Chicago on Monday, becoming the first team to start a season 12-0 or better since the 2015/16 Warriors (who went 24-0). “It’s great. We’re playing well, vibes are good, but we have to continue to be this team,” star guard Donovan Mitchell said, according to Jamal Collier of ESPN. “That’s been my message to the guys in the locker room. This is great. We’re going to get teams’ best shots. We’re going to get tested early, but are we going to continue? And I never — no doubt we will — but that’s been my thing. Are we going to continue to be this team January, February, March, April? I think the guys all feel it, but it’s great to enjoy these moments too while you’re still having a humble approach to it.”
- In a subscriber-only story for Cleveland.com, Chris Fedor takes a look at how new head coach Kenny Atkinson‘s creativity and experimentation has helped spur the Cavaliers‘ early-season success. Meanwhile, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today explores how reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week Darius Garland has rediscovered his joy and love for the game this fall under Atkinson.
- Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball, who is recovering from a right wrist sprain, is out of his brace and will begin dribbling in the coming days to see how the wrist responds, head coach Billy Donovan said on Monday, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “I do think he has some soreness, (and) certainly it’s been a slow progression for him,” Donovan said. “But he has gotten better.”