The Milwaukee Bucks (2-8) are having a rough start to the 2024-2025 NBA season, and things are only going to get worse when they host the Toronto Raptors (2-8) on Tuesday. 

This matchup is part of this year’s NBA Cup, which is in its group stage. Milwaukee is set to be without one of its best players, though, as Damian Lillard is dealing with an injury. The point guard played 36 minutes in the team’s last game against the Boston Celtics, but he has since entered the NBA’s concussion protocol. 

Here are the latest updates for Lillard’s injury. 

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Damian Lillard injury updates

It’s not clear exactly where Lillard picked up the injury. Still, it’s bad enough that he was forced to enter the league’s concussion protocol. Lillard has already been ruled out for Tuesday’s game against Toronto. 

Damian Lillard (concussion protocol) is out for tomorrow’s game.

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) November 12, 2024

There’s no set timeline for a return from a concussion, and it will fully depend on how Lillard progresses through the league’s protocols. With Lillard sidelined, AJ Green will likely get bumped up as the starter, with Ryan Rollins and Delon Wright coming off the bench. 

NBA concussion protocol, explained

Here is the NBA Concussion Policy:

Understanding that concussions are diverse injuries that may have significant long-term consequences, the NBA Concussion Policy is designed to maximize the health and safety of NBA players by providing a framework of education and clinical management that best reflects the current scientific understanding of the injury. Prior concussion history, genetic predisposition, a history of learning disorder, ADHD, migraines, and mood disorder have all been suggested, among other things, to affect the risk of sustaining a concussion or having a more protracted or complicated course. The policy was created, therefore, under the core principle that each concussion, and each athlete, is unique.

The NBA Concussion Policy outlines the steps required for a player to return to participation. Within these steps is a return-to-participation exertion process of physical activity, which a player cannot begin until 24 hours after sustaining the concussion.

Per the policy, a player may not return to participation until these conditions are met:

• The player is without concussion-related symptoms at rest.
• The player has been evaluated by a physician.
• The player has successfully completed the NBA’s return-to-participation exertion process.
• A team physician has discussed the return-to-participation process and decision with the director of the NBA Concussion Program. The final return-to-participation decision is made by the player’s team physician.

NBA return-to-participation exertion process

• Several steps of increasing exertion — from a stationary bike to jogging, to agility work, to non-contact team drills.
• With each step, a focused neurological examination is performed. A player must be symptom-free to move to the next step. If a player is not symptom-free after a step, he stops until he is symptom-free and begins again at the last step he passed without any symptoms.
• There is no timeframe to complete the process.

Damian Lillard stats

Lillard had played in all 10 games Milwaukee has played so far this season.

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