Bucks’ Giannis Update Turns Ty Lue’s Clippers Sole Attention to Its Favorite Prey, Damian Lillard

Giannis Antetokounmpo has been ruled out for the night against the Clippers. And naturally, the Milwaukee Bucks will turn to Damian Lillard to take the head position. But it seems like LA head coach, Ty Lue, also has similar ideas.

Talking to the press ahead of the matchup, Lue said, “We lock onto Dame. Something we have done in the Western Conference for a long time.” Looking at the history between them, the Bucks have lost nine straight games against the LA Clippers. So, in short, it doesn’t look too good for Milwaukee.

Looking at his career stats, Damian Lillard has averaged 19.6 points, 5.6 assists, and 4.1 rebounds in the 35 games he’s played vs the LA Clippers. And the last time he played against them was in a Blazers jersey in the 2022-23 season. LA took home the win with a score of 117 to 102. For that game, Lillard had 21 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds.

Yet, “Dame Time” hasn’t been that effective with the Clippers for more than four years.

Damian Lillard has had a hard time keeping up with the Clippers

After the Trail Blazers’ win against the Clippers on March 12, 2019, Portland has defeated the latter just once in the coming years. This came on October 29, 2021, when LA played the Blazers at their home court and returned with a dismal loss.

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Funny enough, in the last game (October 25th), Lue had proceeded to give his insight into how they managed to keep Portland‘s star player, Damian Lillard, at bay. It was one of the worst games in that the Blazers lost in a 30-point blowout (86-116). The Clippers were on a seven-game winning streak then.

Talking to the press post-game, Ty had said, “We just try to blitz him, keep the ball out of his hands as much as possible. We know he’s a dangerous scorer, he can get going at any time. We all know that and the world knows that.” It seems Lillard might have taken it personally, seeing how at their next outing, Lillard and Co. just limited them to 92 points to their 111.

But Lue’s strategy has paid more dividends than they hoped for. Because, in the ensuing games, until Dame was traded, and even after that, Portland has yet to win a game vs the Clippers. As has the Bucks.

Can Lillard change the narrative tonight? We have to be patient for a little while longer.