© Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports
Khris Middleton to miss a few more games due to sprained ankle
Khris Middleton will be sidelined for a few more games due to a sprained ankle, and coach Doc Rivers admitted that the absence of the veteran shooter will have a big impact on the Milwaukee Bucks.
Khris sprained his ankle after landing on Kevin Durant’s foot in the first quarter of Milwaukee’s 106-114 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night. Middleton played for just eight minutes in the loss and tallied six points, three rebounds, one assist, and a steal.
Middleton has already missed two games due to the injury, and will also sit out when the Bucks play two games in two nights against the Denver Nuggets on Monday and the Miami Heat on Tuesday.
Middleton’s absence will be greatly felt
Khris' scoring ability will undoubtedly affect the Bucks, Rivers said.
“It just takes one of the scores off the floor. Our lineup with Khris in it is as good as anybody’s starting lineup, in my opinion. With Khris out, then that hurts you just like any team who misses guys,” Rivers said.
The Bucks are still developing chemistry under the newly installed Rivers, and Middleton’s absence will affect that goal. Milwaukee is just 2-5 under Doc, who replaced the dismissed Adrian Griffin.
“The only thing that's tough obviously than just missing Khris is putting stuff in like today. We put a bunch of stuff in, and not having Khris on the floor, that clearly hurts it, but we still did it anyway,” said Rivers.
A key contributor
Prior to the ankle injury, Middleton has been relatively healthy this season after undergoing a knee procedure over the summer.
Playing under a minutes restriction, Khris averaged 14.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.3 blocks in the 43 games that he has played this season.
The games that the three-time All-Star missed before the ankle injury were part of knee injury management.
