The Milwaukee Bucks are 9-9 on the season after winning five games in a row. Their latest win, a 106-103 victory over the Miami Heat on Tuesday night, gave them seven wins in their last eight games, and really should have been their eighth consecutive victory.
As fans may recall, Milwaukee lost to the Charlotte Hornets 115-114 on November 16 due to a foul being called in the closing second of the game and LaMelo Ball making two free throws as a result to give the Hornets the lead and the win. After the contest, officials admitted that, upon postgame review, no foul had been committed.
What made the win over Miami so impressive was that the Bucks were without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. Giannis, the two-time NBA MVP who currently leads the league in scoring (32.4 points per game), was a late scratch due to a knee injury. Middleton, of course, has not played yet this season due to recovering from offseason surgery on both of his ankles.
The Milwaukee Bucks Expect Khris Middleton Back After Thanksgiving
Over his last two seasons, both of which have been plagued by injury, Middleton has averaged 15.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 47/36/87 from the floor.
In the five previous seasons, however, he averaged 19.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.7 assists while shooting 46/39/88 from the floor. Middleton averaged 20 or more points per game in four of these seasons, made three All-Star teams, and missed a 50/40/90 season in 2019-20 by 0.3 percentage points.
This is the Middleton that the team and Bucks fans hope they will be getting back. Earlier this week, it was revealed that the three-time All-Star should be cleared to play shortly after Thanksgiving.
This will be a monumental addition for Milwaukee, as their Big Three of Giannis, Damian Lillard, and Middleton have only played six games together since Doc Rivers took over as head coach.
And there is reason to believe that Middleton can return to form. In the Bucks’ postseason loss to the Indiana Pacers last year, Middleton led Milwaukee without Giannis playing at all and with Lillard hampered by an Achilles injury. He averaged 24.7 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game in that series.
Milwaukee Bucks Legend Brandon Jennings Goes Off on Khris Middleton Critics
Middleton has been with the Bucks so long that many fans may forget that he was not drafted by Milwaukee. Instead, he was acquired via trade with the Detroit Pistons in the deal that sent former Bucks’ first-round pick Brandon Jennings out of town.
Recently, Jennings opened up about his departure from the Bucks and his regret over not signing the extension that they offered him. However, there are no hard feelings between the two parties as Jennings has been a frequent visitor on the sidelines of games and, due to his coining of the phrase “Bucks in Six,” rode with the team in their NBA Championship Parade (the Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns in six games).
During a recent podcast hosted by former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, Jennings went on an expletive-laced rant about fans who criticize Middleton or who compare him to other NBA players that are clearly worse than he is.
Arenas was talking about Los Angeles Lakers fans claiming that their team will get better when Austin Reeves and D’Angelo Russell are healthy, much like how Bucks fans feel like adding a healthy Middleton to their team will also improve their performance.
Jennings was not having his former teammate (they did play together on the Bucks in 2017-18) compared to players he feels are significantly worse than him.
“You’re comparing Austin Reeves and D’Angelo Russell to Khris Middleton? Get the f— out of here!” Jennings responded. “That’s not even the same, they’re not even in the same, just don’t do that. Don’t try to disrespect Khris Middleton by saying, ‘Well we’re…’ Khris Middleton is a way better basketball player than those two bums. Get the f— out of here, just get the f— out of here. Khris Middleton actually got it f—ing done.”
Many fans are quick to forget that, when Giannis missed a few games of the Eastern Conference Finals the year they won the title, it was Middleton who stepped up to lead the Bucks. In that series, he averaged 23.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game.
Everyone remembers Giannis’ 50-point game in Game Six to bring home the title, but Middleton’s 40-point performance in Game Four often gets forgotten. That game evened the series 2-2 and shifted the momentum to the Bucks.
Hopefully he can still perform at that level when he comes back.
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