The Milwaukee Bucks displayed their ambitious character after winning the NBA Cup. Even though it was a tumultuous season, they decided against celebrating the victory. The team didn’t want to lose focus but rather continue to build on their success and learn. However, in their first game since the hallmark win, the Cleveland Cavaliers managed to completely outplay them. And a frustrated Doc Rivers failed to have any takeaways from the game. He was just plain embarrassed.

The Bucks did miss out on Damian Lillard tonight due to a right calf strain. But after missing the NBA Cup finale with an illness, Khris Middleton was back in Milwaukee green against the top-seeded Cavaliers. He did have a decent outing alongside another sizzling Giannis Antetokounmpo performance. But the Bucks in general lacked discipline.

“We got to move the ball more. You know we didn’t run a lot of stuff tonight. We got to get more organized. We don’t do that often but we have games like that and when that happens, we usually don’t win those games,” Rivers said about the team.

Even though shorthanded, the Bucks only recorded 23 assists on 20 turnovers. Furthermore, Andre Jackson Jr., the sophomore who stepped up in Lillard’s absence, couldn’t be fully integrated into the motions. Rivers still felt he had a role to play rather than the Cavaliers shutting off on him. But with how the team performed, there was nothing to assess.

“You know there’s no read on tonight’s game. We learned nothing is what I’ll say tonight,” the angered head coach told the reporters. The only side of the floor that he could draw an inference from is the Cavaliers’ attack. Other than that, Doc Rivers felt “this is a look at the film quickly and throw it away”. 

Doc Rivers will have a Khris Middleton dilemma to deal with soon

Ever since becoming an integral part of Milwaukee’s core, Khris Middleton has been the starting forward. Over the past few seasons, though, injuries have curtailed his participation. Only this year, Middleton missed the first 21 games of the season. But aside from his illness, the veteran forward is slowly increasing his work rate.

Tonight, he played close to 20 minutes, logging 14 points and 3 assists off the bench. Those numbers don’t jump out, but in his time on the floor, the Bucks were only a -9. The exaggeration is due to the fact that every other Bucks’ stalwart recorded a double-digit net differential.

Rivers emphasized the need to be “organized”. It seems with Middleton’s natural chemistry besides Antetokounmpo and some of his teammates, he is able to bring some of that to the table. It’s still uncertain whether he will start soon. Given how Taurean Prince is performing, shooting a career-high 51% from three, the seasoned head coach has a tough decision to make.

Khris Middleton still holds the ability to score the ball. He isn’t as prolific a shooter, but a superior creator in other spots on the floor. But now with two scoring-heavy pillars in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard starting, is it better to have one of the most efficient three-point scorers this season or one of the Bucks’ most decorated scorers in the teams’ history with them?

It’s a dilemma that once Middleton begins ramping up his fitness will have to be fielded. One of the ways it could benefit the Bucks is having a third point-of-attack who can invent his own offense. On nights Lillard’s shot isn’t firing, Khris Middleton stands as the ideal pivot to defer to.

Despite that, it won’t be a decision that Doc Rivers can make on a whim. If it were up to you, who would you start? Let us know your views in the comments below.