Not even Khris Middleton’s best game of the season was enough to save the Milwaukee Bucks from the Indiana Pacers in the semifinal of the In-Season Tournament.
Middleton has been recovering from summer surgery throughout the season, and the fact that he played a season-high 29.5 minutes on Thursday against the Pacers is obviously a significant milestone for the three-time All-Star.
Milwaukee Bucks Coach Vocal on Khris Middleton’s Minutes Limit
Middleton finished the loss with a season-best 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting, to go along with seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals. The 6-foot-7 wing also went 4-of-5 from deep as he did all he could to help the Bucks overcome the Pacers.
It just wasn’t enough.
Milwaukee head coach Adrian Griffin recently provided a crucial update on Middleton’s injury status moving forward as well as his minutes limit for the foreseeable future:
“I think for now, around that 28-minute… 28, 30 max I think is where we have him,” Griffin said, via Gabe Stoltz of Brew Hoops. “And I think he responded well. A lot of this is just gonna be day-to-day, as far as how Khris feels, how he responds to those minutes. But having him on the floor for 28, 30 minutes is great. We’re a better team when he’s on the floor for sure.”
The good news here is that Middleton has been progressing well. He’s taking all the right steps in the right direction as he looks to get back to peak form.
However, you also can’t ignore the fact that we’re already in December, and Middleton has yet to see his minutes limit removed. It has been a slow, steady, and extremely cautious approach by the Bucks as they bring their star forward back up to speed.
There have been no setbacks thus far, though, which only means that Milwaukee is doing a great job on Middleton’s road to recovery.
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