Reactions to Milwaukee Bucks’ Khris Middleton having wrist surgery

If you’re wondering how Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton is recovering from his knee injury, there is something else that you should know. Multiple sources, including ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Adrian Wojnarowski, are reporting that Khris Middleton underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist in early July.

Reactions to Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton undergoing surgery on his wrist

The good news here is that the report mentions that Middleton is expected to be fully recovered to return sometime near the start of the regular season. Middleton missed a few games down the stretch of the regular season with what the team had labeled as left wrist soreness. The Bucks are terrible at giving medical updates on their players, so it’s unknown how long Middleton had been dealing with the injury or when it occurred.

I expect that this is a non-issue for the Bucks. There shouldn’t be any problem with Middleton expected back around the start of the regular season. As long as Middleton’s recovery goes well, he should be able to seamlessly slide back into the rotation.

The 2022 postseason was an indicator of just how important Khris Middleton is to the Bucks. With Middleton out, most of the offense had to be run through Giannis Antetokounmpo. While Antetokounmpo is more than capable of shouldering the offense on his own, the team struggled to find a reliable second option without Middleton.

Jrue Holiday was expected to step up and be the team’s second option, but instead, he delivered an abysmal playoffs in terms of efficiency. Holiday never was able to find a consistent rhythm, as he shot 37.9 percent from the field and 31.6 percent from three in the playoffs.

It wasn’t only Holiday that struggled without Middleton, as the whole team saw a drop in offensive production. The team ranked 14th among the 16 qualifying playoff teams in field goal percentage, shooting just 43.8 percent, per NBA.com/stats. They also were terrible from beyond the arc, where they ranked 11th by shooting 32.7 percent.

There is always a worry after an injury about whether or not a player will bounce back the same. Since the wrist injury is not the only injury that Middleton will be addressing this offseason, it is certainly a cause for concern. Middleton’s injury that kept him out of the playoffs was a knee injury. Knees tend to be tricky when it comes to recovery, so hopefully Middleton can avoid any long-term issues. Considering the knee didn’t require surgery, that is probably something that we shouldn’t have to worry about.

Middleton’s importance to the Bucks has been displayed numerous times over the last couple of seasons. Middleton put together some incredible performances and made some timely shots for Milwaukee during their championship run in 2021. The Bucks certainly missed Middleton in 2022, but they will look to make another run with a healthy Middleton in 2023.

Stay tuned for updates on Khris Middleton as we get them this offseason. The Bucks are usually vague in their updates on players, so it may be a while until we know how he’s doing.