No. 3 – Who will step up for the Milwaukee Bucks with Khris Middleton likely to miss the entirety of the second round?
As if facing the Boston Celtics was not enough of a challenge on its own, the Milwaukee Bucks will have to enter the battle without Khris Middleton. The All-Star went down in the first round with an MCL sprain and is likely to miss this entire second round series. With their second-leading scorer unavailable, the Milwaukee Bucks need their supporting cast to step up, but the question at hand is which players can and will do it.
Obviously, the candidate everyone has on their minds is Grayson Allen. The guard was outstanding in the first round, and he is more than capable of making a big impact in round two, as highlighted in the previous section. Another name is Bobby Portis, who stepped up mightily in the final three matchups after Middleton went down. In that time, he averaged a double-double with 15.3 points and 14.3 rebounds per game, having dominated in his return to the starting five. It is unclear if the big man will remain in the starting lineup for this series, but whether he is coming off the bench or sticking with the starters, Portis could make an impact with his dynamic scoring and rebounding.
Pat Connaughton and Brook Lopez are two more names that come to mind. Connaughton had a quiet series against the Bulls up until Game 5, where he erupted for 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the outside. Like Allen, Connaughton could help alleviate Milwaukee’s bench scoring issues when he is scoring the basketball like this, and he must be aggressive with his shooting in round two. While Lopez is more known for his defensive contributions, he can also help fill the scoring void left behind in Middleton’s absence. This is a player that dropped 33 points in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals last year when Antetokounmpo was out with that hyperextended knee, after all. If Lopez can knock down some triples and convert at the hoop, it would help Milwaukee mightily as they play without Khris Middleton.
The Milwaukee Bucks have plenty of players that are capable of stepping up, but the question is which ones will do it.
Be sure to catch Game 1 tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. CST on ABC.