“It’s always great to have him… he’s one of those players that plays the right way,” said Giannis last month regarding Khris Middleton. Amid the Milwaukee Bucks faltering in the first round of the playoffs last season, the reported hope was for him and all-stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard to turn things around this time. However, the trio’s appearances have been limited to just seven games this season, as injuries and illnesses have occasionally barred at least one of them. With Khris Middleton’s ongoing troubles with his bilateral ankle injury management, the team head coach has figured out a somewhat non-ideal way to keep the athlete playing.
Earlier today, NBA reporter Eric Nehm highlighted a statement by Doc Rivers. The head coach revealed that Khris Middleton will be available to take on the Spurs, but not as a starter. Instead, he will be coming off the bench, and will also be on a minutes restriction.
Rivers only had his player’s best intentions in mind when making this decision, as he revealed, “He keeps getting the tendinitis (in his ankle). It’s just not improving to the place he wants it or we want it. And so we just gotta monitor it. We’re cutting his minutes back a little bit and just trying to make sure he can get through this.”
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Bucks coach Doc Rivers confirmed that Khris Middleton is not starting tonight, but it is more about Middleton’s health than anything else.
Rivers: https://t.co/5ZfRONIAcY pic.twitter.com/ELE18s6sPE
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) January 9, 2025
Khris Middleton had been absent for 21 consecutive games, right from the ongoing tournament’s commencement. He didn’t make his season debut until early December. In fact, Middleton had been dealing with the ankle issue even before the ongoing season began. Much of the player’s offseason was spent recovering from surgery on both ankles. Before his debut, he spoke with the Journal Sentinel about his progress, stating, “It’s the same, man. I feel good. I feel like I’m progressing. It’s just slower. Slower than I want it to be.”
The small forward did start in 7 of his 12 games, but his minutes were reduced when compared to the previous season. The same resulted in a slight drop in his performance as well. However, an average score of 12.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 5 assists is still commendable. To ensure that the performance only goes up now, Rivers has had to proceed with the definitive decision.
“There is no sample size,” Rivers added. “There’s no fair sample size. I’m trying to get that across. It’s just not getting there. It’s really is no sample size because he hasn’t been right yet. So we want to wait until he gets right.”
Doc Rivers’ explanation may lead to some fans being satisfied over having received a proper explanation. After all, before the head coach’s remarks, theories were willing to put Darvin Ham on a cross.
Fans initially berated Darvin Ham’s connection to Taurean Prince for affecting Khris Middleton’s minutes
Chris Haynes was amongst the first to report that Khris Middleton would no longer be starting in the team’s lineup. The decision initially left some fans reportedly puzzled. They may have been aware of the player’s injury troubles. However, Middleton’s scoring was still on a good level, making many wonder whether there’s more to the story.
Many of them attempted to highlight the same by targeting former Lakers head coach and current Bucks lead assistant coach, Darvin Ham. Soon enough, the comments section on Instagram was filled up with remarks like “Darvin Ham will literally do anything for Taurean Prince to succeed”.
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Another example was “Taurean Prince bout to go 32mns”. Fans might remember that Taurean Prince was also a member of the Los Angeles Lakers last season. Under head coach Darvin Ham, the 30-year-old had seen quite an increase in his minutes. In fact, the number had gone up from 22.1 minutes in 2022-23 to 27 minutes last season.
Since Taurean Prince would benefit from Middleton taking up the bench role, it led some to believe that Ham’s influence could have made things happen, as indicated by this comment from another fan. “Prince gotta Ham’s son-in-law or something.”
However, nothing of that nature has been proven yet.
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Do you believe that Khris Middleton being shifted to the bench role would be beneficial for him in the long run? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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