Bucks Zone

Injury update: Khris Middleton's status for the Chicago Bulls game revealed

The Bucks All-Star will miss his 6th game in a row tonight.
Matthew Dugandzic|
© Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

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The Milwaukee Bucks will be in Chicago tonight to take on the Bulls, but they will be without their 3x All-Star Khris Middleton, who is set to miss another game due to knee soreness. Jrue Holiday is also on the injury report with a hip contusion, but the point guard is probable to play.

Underwhelming return

The 6'7'' forward has been ruled out for his sixth straight game tonight due to knee soreness, and it seems his comeback hasn't gone as smoothly as the Bucks wanted it. After returning earlier this month from wrist surgery in the offseason, the 3x All-Star only played in 7 games and showed he is far from 100%.

Even though it's a small sample size, Middleton is averaging 11.1 ppg, 4.4 apg, and 2.2 rpg on 32.5% from the floor and 26.8% from deep. Considering he missed last year's playoff battle with the Celtics and the start of this season, it is normal that Khris is a bit rusty.

Middleton had a couple of small flashes, proving he is very valuable for his team due to his sheer shot-creating and distributing ability even though his shots weren't going down consistently. But without him on the floor, Milwaukee just loses that one extra dimension despite holding their own.

Playing it safe

Bucks fans are obviously worried, as this knee issue derailed their last title run and ended Middleton's season mid-playoffs. But it could just be Milwaukee playing it extra safe and trying to slowly get Khris to 100% before the Playoffs arrive.

This is a deep squad, and when you have an MVP candidate like Giannis Antetokounmpo on your team, you can afford to sit out All-Stars here and there. Mike Budenholzer would love to have his squad at full strength without a doubt, especially if they want to overtake the #1 seed from the Boston Celtics. 

But if they want to do that and go far in the playoffs, they will need a healthy and ready Khris Middleton there to help out Giannis, Jrue, and Brook Lopez. After all, it's just not the same team without him, which was proven in last year's postseason.

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Matthew Dugandzic
MATTHEW DUGANDZIC

Matthew finished his bachelor's degree in Economics (Management) at the University of Split and got his master's degree in the same field at the University of Zadar. Whether it is playing the game as an undersized 6'3'' power forward or simply watching it, Matthew can't get enough of it. After all, he has been an avid NBA fan since the 2000s. But don't get him wrong, as Matthew still loves the old-school NBA and is a true student of the game. From on-court moments to off-court stuff, whether it's about the stars of modern-day basketball or legends of the game, Matthew covers every category of the NBA world and basketball in general, as long as it makes for an engaging and exciting story.