Is Damian Lillard playing tonight? Trail Blazers hopeful about star's foot injury

Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard sat out Sunday's (Monday IST) scrimmage against the Toronto Raptors. As per ESPN's Rachel Nichols, the point guard is suffering from foot inflation on the bottom of his foot. However, Blazers coach Terry Stotts revealed that Lillard's injury is not serious. 

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Is Damian Lillard playing tonight?

Currently, Damian Lillard is listed on a day-to-day basis, as reported by The Oregonian. The 30-year-old sat out the Trail Blazers' scrimmage against the Raptors, but the team is yet to make an official announcement about Lillard's return for the next scrimmage. Scotts had revealed that Lillard had an X-ray which showed some inflammation. However, Scotts assured that the effects will not be long term. He further added that they hope Lillard plays their last scrimmage game. Gary Trent Jr played in Lillard's stead on Sunday. 

The Trail Balzers will face the Oklahoma City Thunder for their final scrimmage on Tuesday (Wednesday IST). Their first of their eight seeding games before the NBA playoffs in August is against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday 4 PM EST (Saturday, 1:30 AM IST), crucial for their chance to secure the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference. 

The team is currently ranked ninth in the Western Conference, 3.5 games behind the Grizzlies and one percentage point ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans. If the ninth-seeded team is within four games of the eighth playoff spot, a play-in tournament will be conducted by the team to decide the final playoff spot. Lillard last played against the Indiana Pacers on Thursday, scoring 4 points and 7 assists. This season, Lillard was selected to play during the NBA All-Star Game and was averaging career-high 28.9 points and 7.8 assists this season.   

Thunder vs Trail Blazers schedule

Date: Tuesday, July 28 (Wednesday, July 29 IST)

Time: 6 PM EST (3:30 AM IST)

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Damian Lillard will not play today with left foot inflammation. Coach Terry Stotts says he is day to day. #ripcity

— Travis Demers (@travisdemers) July 26, 2020

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Damian Lillard injury

The x-ray on Damian Lillard’s foot was negative - he has inflammation on the bottom of the foot and won’t play in the Blazers’ scrimmage tonight.

— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) July 26, 2020

Also read | Damian Lillard injury rules him out of All-Star game: Damian Lillard return and Damian Lillard injury update

Without Lillard, Jusuf Nurkic led the team with a 17-point, 13-rebound and 5-assist performance. Carmelo Anthony added 14 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. CJ McCollum chipped in 21 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Hassan Whiteside recorded 6 points and 5 rebounds in 18 minutes. 

(Image source: NBA official site)