The Milwaukee Bucks may be the no. 3 seed in the East, but this was a season they expected to be competing right at the top. Damian Lillard, their marquee offseason acquisition, thought the same. He opened up to Chris Mannix about what he expected from the Bucks after playing in his first preseason game in October.
“I thought we were going to be how Boston is right now. But I think what I’ve learned is that some things take time, especially stuff that has rewards in the end. You can’t come into it and think that it’s just going to be all peaches and cream. We’ve had our ups and downs. We’ve had a coaching change. I haven’t completely settled into finding who am I on this team. And that’s kind of a tough thing.”
Lillard did focus on the positives that they’ve seen, with a solid record and the team looking better in recent games under Doc Rivers.
“I think the most encouraging thing is that we’ve been able to win a lot of games and it’s a long season. So we’ve had adversity hit our team two or three different times and we’ve managed to still be a top-three team in the East with a lot of games to go and still being far away from reaching what we could be and what we should be. And since Doc has gotten here, we’ve kind of shuffled some things around and set kind of a new foundation of things that’s really encouraging. And I think my job is to just stay in the process.”
Lillard hasn’t had the impact he would have hoped at the start of the year, averaging 24.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 6.8 assists on 42.5% from the field and 34.4% from three. Despite Giannis Antetokounmpo having one of the best statistical years of his career, the Bucks need Lillard to be a more consistent threat for them to have any shot at competing for a championship this season.
Damian Lillard Is Struggling To Adjust To Life In Milwaukee
It’s no secret that Damian Lillard spent the offseason trying to find a way to join the Miami Heat, with the Heat also making lavish trade offers to the Trail Blazers that the franchise refused. Being traded to the Bucks was still going to give Lillard a contending opportunity, but not in the location he wanted.
Now that Lillard is settling in after major personal upheaval which led to a divorce, the 33-year-old point guard got honest about the loneliness and boredom he has had to deal with in Milwaukee.
“Bro, go to practice, go home, watch boxing, play video games. Man, I type in [boxing website] FightHype on YouTube 100 times and be praying for something new to be on there. Seriously, I don’t have much of a life. But that’s what comes with making a big boy decision. You got to be down for that and figure it out.”
If Lillard is not happy off the court, the Bucks will struggle to see good results. Giannis has tried his best to make Lillard feel comfortable, even calling this Dame’s team now. But if Dame remains negatively impacted by his life off-the-court, Milwaukee might need to find creative solutions around this problem.
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