Khris Middleton found his stride in the Milwaukee Bucks’ win over Pacers
By Dalton Sell
It has been a turbulent season for Milwaukee Bucks’ wing Khris Middleton, who has been in and out of the lineup due to recovery from wrist surgery and knee soreness.
After last playing on December 15, Middleton made his return to the lineup on January 23 and has suited up in each of the last three games. Coach Mike Budenholzer has kept Middleton on a rather tight minutes restriction of 15 per game in that span, and understandably so. Despite that limited sample size, Middleton has looked solid, especially in the team’s win over the Indiana Pacers.
Khris Middleton found his stride in the Milwaukee Bucks’ win over the Pacers
Coming off the bench for the third consecutive game, Middleton came in and gave the Bucks a big boost in the opening period. The forward started things off with a driving layup, followed it up with another layup that resulted in an and-one, and then topped it off with a sweet turnaround jumper over Aaron Nesmith. Hitting three free throws in the process, Middleton finished with a team-high nine points in the opening period after playing four minutes and 43 seconds.
Middleton’s momentum did not slow down in the second period as he continued to put points on the board. Driving to the hoop for two layups and hitting two jumpers, Middleton sunk four out of his five shots in the quarter, with his only miss coming from three. Given that he played most of his minutes in the first half, it was a much quieter final two quarters for Middleton, who did not even take the floor in the fourth period. After scoring above 40 in the first two quarters, the team did not crack 30 in the final two, as the Bucks’ offense struggled to stay in that rhythm.
In just over 14 and a half minutes, Middleton finished with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Four of those misses came from 3-point land, as the forward did not sink any of his attempts. In addition to his scoring, Middleton made an impact as a facilitator by notching four assists. Middleton also nabbed two steals as he had some active hands on the defensive end. It was a great showing for Middleton, and hopefully, he can build off of this performance for the Bucks moving forward.
Middleton looked great in the win over Indiana, and it will be interesting to see how Budenholzer continues gradually increasing his playing time.
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Above all else, it is great to see Middleton back on the court and playing well.