In a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Milwaukee Bucks All-Star Khris Middleton is planning to make his season debut tonight against the Los Angeles Lakers in Milwaukee. The Bucks and Lakers face off at 6:30 central time on ESPN, marking former assistant coach Darvin Ham’s first return to Milwaukee since taking over as head coach of the Lakers.
The Milwaukee Bucks injury report for Friday night has Khris Middleton listed as probable for the matchup against the Lakers at home, the first of just four home games the Bucks play in December.
It was originally reported on Wednesday by Shams Charania that Khris Middleton was getting close to return and could return as early as the Lakers game, this report from Wojnarowski seems to confirm that, as does the injury report. That said, let’s look at some things to keep an eye on for Middleton’s 2022-23 season debut.
What to watch for in Khris Middleton’s return to the Milwaukee Bucks: How many minutes will Khris play?
A couple weeks ago, in a matchup against the Atlanta Hawks, Jrue Holiday turned his ankle and Jrue missed a couple games and when he returned Mike Budenholzer brought him off the bench. Holiday’s first game back from injury he played 23 minutes against the 76ers. Khris Middleton, despite having gotten some practices in with the Wisconsin Herd, may need a couple games coming off the bench to get back to NBA level conditioning.
The Milwaukee Bucks play the Los Angeles Lakers tonight so throwing Middleton straight into 30+ minutes while going against LeBron James might not be the way to go. Also, the Milwaukee Bucks are 15-5, there’s no need to rush Khris straight into his normal workload.
It certainly would be great to see Khris get off to a great start on some bold predictions made back before the season started however.
What to watch for in Khris Middleton’s return to the Milwaukee Bucks: Will Khris start or not?
This is definitely the biggest question surrounding Khris Middleton’s return, will Khris start and if he does, who moves to the bench? There is the logistical case to be made that the Milwaukee Bucks don’t need two point guards starting and therefore Jevon Carter could move to the bench when Middleton returns to the starting lineup.
However, Jevon Carter has earned his spot, not to say that Grayson Allen hasn’t, but Grayson Allen has come off the bench a few times already this season when Mike Budenholzer opted to go with a bigger starting lineup, inserting Bobby Portis or a couple times when MarJon Beauchamp got the call.
I think Jevon Carter gets the call here, should Khris Middleton be in the starting lineup against the Lakers, Carter should remain a starter and Grayson Allen brought in as a sixth man or brought in together with Bobby Portis. A second unit checking in with Grayson Allen and Bobby Portis may give the Milwaukee Bucks an offensive boost that they’ve been looking for. Grayson Allen has thrived as a catch and shoot player, which was on display against the Mavericks Sunday and the end of the game against the Knicks on Wednesday, and could be used somewhat similarly to how the Utah Jazz use Jordan Clarkson as a second unit scorer.
Grayson Allen would give the Bucks the better scoring boost on the second unit as he is better at driving to the basket to create not only for himself but for teammates, his offense may be better suited to help the second unit.
Either way, the Milwaukee Bucks are about to get a huge boost to their offense and a slight boost to their defense as well.
What to watch for in Khris Middleton’s return to the Milwaukee Bucks: How will the defense look?
As previously mentioned, Khris Middleton has been getting in some practices with the Wisconsin Herd, so it is possible that Khris is ready to resume nearly his full workload. However, there is no substitute for real game action. Friday night’s matchup also presents a uniquely difficult starting small forward assignment in LeBron James. Middleton would likely be the first defender on James should he be inserted in the starting lineup.
The Milwaukee Bucks currently have the NBA’s best team defensive rating at 106.5. Last season Khris Middleton held an individual defensive rating of 109.6, a decent defensive rating for a player known for his offense.
Khris Middleton is the second longest tenured Milwaukee Buck after only Giannis Antetokounmpo, the next two on the list are Pat Connaughton and Brook Lopez. Khris has plenty of experience in the Mike Budenholzer system defensively funneling opposing players towards Lopez who is currently leading the NBA in blocks.
Given his solid defense, length and experience with the system and the players around him, the Milwaukee Bucks should continue being strong defensively, whether Middleton comes off the bench or starts.
Regardless of how Middleton’s first game back from injury shakes out, we can all agree that we will be happy to see him back on the court. Stay tuned for takeaways following tonight’s game.