3 Bucks whose stock dropped in the 2022-23 regular season- Khris Middleton
This has more to do with health than anything because there is no question that Khris Middleton can still be that guy.
Middleton dealt with a plethora of injuries starting with offseason wrist surgery and missing 18 games with right knee soreness.
Middleton only played in 33 games this season. When Middleton originally came back in December, Head Coach Mike Budenholzer tested out by giving Middleton normal minutes as he averaged 24.4 minutes a game in December, but soon after, Middleton’s right knee started giving him problems, and he ended up missing 18 games with right knee soreness.
Middleton found himself on a minutes restriction after he came back, only averaging 16 minutes a game in January, and progressively increasing to 20 minutes before his workload to averaging 30 minutes a game in March.
It was a challenging injury for Middleton because it depended on how his knee felt game-to-game, and at one point with Budenholzer limiting his minutes to 15, Middleton had 17 points in 15 minutes against the Indiana Pacers. Middleton had a couple of masterful performances against the Sacramento Kings (31 points) and Detroit Pistons (34 points).
Is it fair to expect Middleton to put up these kinds of performances in the playoffs? Maybe, but also keep in mind that Budenholzer has had to manage his knee injury all season and I expect he’ll have to do the same thing in the postseason.
Middleton was reportedly a full participant in practice on Thursday, so we will what his status is for Milwaukee’s game 1 matchup on Sunday.
Let’s hope Middleton can stay healthy throughout this postseason run.