Jericho Sims News: Part of rotation in playoff opener

Sims (thumb) played 10 minutes Saturday in the Bucks' 117-98 loss to the Pacers in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series, finishing with two rebounds and one block.

After requiring surgery March 17 to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb and missing the final 15 games of the regular season, Sims showed enough improvement over the past week to gain clearance for the Bucks' postseason opener. Though Bobby Portis returned from his 25-game suspension at the tail end of the regular season to bolster the Bucks' frontcourt depth, head coach Doc Rivers was still able to find a spot in the rotation for Sims, who handled a light role off the bench while starting center Brook Lopez was limited to 21 minutes. Unless a 20-to-25-minute role becomes the norm for Lopez, Sims likely won't see his role increase as the series unfolds, and he could even be at risk of falling out of the rotation entirely. Damian Lillard has been cleared to resume on-court work after he had been diagnosed in March with a blood clot in his right calf, and if he's back in action for Game 2 on Tuesday, he would likely poach minutes from Sims and a few other supporting players.