Before the Milwaukee Bucks played the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night, head coach Doc Rivers delivered a series of important updates regarding Khris Middleton.
After playing 12 consecutive games in his return from offseason procedures on both ankles, the veteran forward missed Monday’s win over the Toronto Raptors with what Rivers termed a “maintenance” day. But as the Bucks prepared to play the Spurs, Rivers informed reporters that Middleton’s role would be changing in the interim.
“He’s not starting tonight, but (it’s) more just a minute thing,” Rivers said. “He keeps getting the tendinitis. It’s just not improving to the place he wants it or we want it. And so we just gotta monitor it. We’re cutting his minutes back a little bit and just trying to make sure he can get through this.”
When asked if bringing Middleton off the bench might make it easier for Rivers and the Bucks to get the three-time All-Star into the lineups that they’d prefer and close games with the starters, Rivers made it clear: the decision to bring Middleton off the bench was more about getting him through his ramp-up to play more minutes with greater consistency than perfectly manipulating his minutes to get him on the floor exactly when they want to.
“I think we’re thinking about this way too much,” Rivers said. “I’m just being honest. The bottom line is he’s just not moving every night the way you like him to. One night, you see he’s moving great. One night, he’s not. His minutes go up and down with the way we want to do this medically. And it’s just, it’s a tough go for him.”
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In Wednesday’s 121-105 win over the Spurs, Middleton, who averages 23.6 minutes per game, played 20 minutes and 50 seconds, the fourth fewest minutes he’s played in any of his 13 appearances this season. It’s unclear if he would have re-entered the game if the Spurs had managed to keep the score closer as Rivers removed his regulars with just under three minutes remaining, but the lesser workload was notable. In his time on the floor, Middleton scored just eight points on 2-of-7 shooting, but also added five rebounds and three assists. For the season, Middleton has averaged 12.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. He was tied for a team-best plus-20 on the night with Bobby Portis and Gary Trent Jr.
Middleton’s return has had its ups and downs. Against the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 23, he had a personal 10-0 run, looking like the Middleton who has taken over games in the postseason.
Khash in his bag with a personal 10-0 run! 💸 https://t.co/9TRN3RkwCc pic.twitter.com/9AZD1ou1wn
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) December 24, 2024
But in an upset loss to the Portland Trail Blazers at Fiserv Forum on Jan. 4, Middleton had two points in 26 minutes.
As Middleton has returned from various injuries over the years, it has been rare to see him stagnate or move backward in the process of returning to his normal role and retaking his place in the starting lineup. In an ideal world, Middleton would have returned from the injury and ramped up to his spot in the starting lineup with no restrictions. Bringing him off the bench for now, though, should allow for Rivers to get Middleton into more meaningful situations and use his minutes best rather than needing to start with him on the floor.
“It was just brought that it’s probably best that with my minute restriction that with the way rotations work to come off the bench to play more meaningful minutes,” Middleton said.
For the Bucks to contend for a championship, however, they will need Middleton to be able to play at least 30 minutes of high-level basketball each night. The confidence that goes along with that has not left him, even with this momentary step backwards in the process.
“I mean, I know what type of player I am,” Middleton said. “Just for the time being, I need to come off the bench. It is what it is. But I’m confident in this team, I’m confident in myself and this is the role I have to play for the time being.”
While it is not ultimately where the Bucks are going to want or need Middleton in their rotation, this time coming off the bench will allow the Bucks to work on a few things that could ultimately end up being advantageous for them.
Without Middleton in the lineup, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard will be able to work on making their time on the floor together more effective. While the illness sweeping through the Bucks’ locker room has affected some of their averages, Antetokounmpo and Lillard are having strong individual seasons.
Antetokounmpo is tallying 31.3 points per game on 59.9 percent shooting, while also adding 11.8 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.4 blocks per game, while Lillard is averaging 24.8 points (on 44 percent shooting) and 7.4 assists per game. Even with those impressive individual numbers, the Bucks, per Cleaning the Glass, are outscoring opponents by only 1.9 points per 100 possessions with Antetokounmpo and Lillard on the floor.
The same thing could be said of the Bucks’ offense overall. With an MVP-level season from Antetokounmpo and a more efficient and effective second season in Milwaukee from Lillard, the Bucks are only 13th overall in offensive efficiency. Playing a little less with Middleton to start the game will give Antetokounmpo and Lillard the space to continue to build upon making the Bucks a highly effective unit built around their prodigious talents rather than a slightly above-average unit being carried by their individual performances.
“It gives him a lot of freedom to be himself, to operate,” Antetokounmpo said about Middleton after Wednesday’s game. “Sometimes maybe, not on purpose, maybe when we are all three on the starting lineup we kind of clog, we kind of muck the game up, we hold the ball too much, the ball doesn’t move as much. I feel like he just gives us more depth on the bench when he comes off the bench.”
On top of providing Antetokounmpo and Lillard the opportunity to keep building the starting unit’s flow, running the bench units may allow Middleton to find some rhythm of his own. It could also turn the bench into a strength and could also help the Bucks become a top-five offensive unit as one might expect with three All-Star level offensive players.
“So now with that situation happening, I think it just makes us better right now because he’s going to be able to handle the ball, he’s going to be in a position to do more in that second group,” Lillard said. “It also makes our depth that much better. You got second groups having to deal with Khris Middleton.
“And then you got that shooting we have coming off the bench, it just gives you an opportunity where you don’t have to have me and Giannis on the court, one or the other, all the time. You’ve got another great player out there and it’s hell for the other team’s bench to deal with. I think it just makes us better. And it just creates a lot of balance for us.”
This is not where the Bucks are going to want to be at the end of the season. To get where they want — contend with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have the league’s best record at 33-4, and the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics atop the Eastern Conference — the Bucks (19-16) are going to need Middleton at full strength. They are going to need to be able to start games with Middleton, end games with him and use him to help fill out lineups throughout the game.
For now, bringing Middleton off the bench will be how the Bucks handle things and try to make the best of it.
“Just for the most part, just frustrating, just that I’m dealing with rehab,” Middleton said. “Dealing with coming off an injury for consecutive years but like I said, it is what it is. I just have to continue to keep doing the work to be the player that I know I’m capable of being and that I have been.”
If done well, this has the possibility to make the Bucks stronger by the end of the season. That will require Middleton eventually getting through his minutes limit and Rivers being able to play him with full freedom against the best opponents.
“It’s not the way you want to do this, clearly, but it’s what we have,” Rivers said. “And the key for us is get through it and get through it and still be able to win games.”
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(Photo of Khris Middleton: Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)
