Last week, in the aftermath of a disastrous pre-All-Star break loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, Damian Lillard closed his eyes and leaned back in his locker. This isn’t what Lillard envisioned in the aftermath of the trade with the Milwaukee Bucks, not after a solid training camp and an encouraging preseason.
“After that first preseason game [against the Los Angeles Lakers], I was like, ‘Man, we’re going to be rolling,’ ” Lillard says. “I thought we were going to be how Boston is right now.”
It hasn’t worked out that way. At 35–21, Milwaukee is third in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks have lost seven of the 10 games Doc Rivers has coached and are just two games up on fifth-seeded Philadelphia.
