{"id":104215,"date":"2024-10-31T08:30:41","date_gmt":"2024-10-31T12:30:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=104215"},"modified":"2024-10-31T06:57:09","modified_gmt":"2024-10-31T10:57:09","slug":"doc-rivers-hints-at-return-from-injury-for-khris-middleton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/31\/doc-rivers-hints-at-return-from-injury-for-khris-middleton\/","title":{"rendered":"Doc Rivers Hints At Return From Injury For Milwaukee Bucks Star"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/25\/2024-25-nba-betting-preview-milwaukee-bucks-win-total-odds\/\" target=\"_self\">Milwaukee Bucks<\/a> are off to a slow start to the 2024-25 season. They currently sit near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, with a record of 1-3. In the second season of the star pairing of <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/antetgi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lillada01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Damian Lillard<\/a>, the Bucks are hoping to get on the right track sooner rather than later. Recently, Bucks head coach <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/r\/riverdo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Doc Rivers<\/a> gave a <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/middlkh01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Khris Middleton<\/a> injury update even without directly answering the question: When will Khris Middleton return?<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Doc Rivers Hints At Return From Injury For Milwaukee Bucks Star<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Khris Middleton Injury Update<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Middleton\u2019s injury status has been somewhat unclear. Middleton hurt both of his ankles last season and took the offseason to get surgery on them both. In early October, Rivers was optimistic about Middleton\u2019s chances of playing at least one preseason game. A few days later, it was reported that the Bucks forward was playing three-on-three and was hoping to be ready for the end of the preseason, but that never happened.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Middleton\u2019s injury timetable was pushed back again when he wasn\u2019t ready for the Bucks season opener against the Sixers.\u00a0 The Bucks have treated Middleton as day-to-day, but it seems like he still hasn\u2019t done any five-on-five workouts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"et\" dir=\"ltr\">Khris Middleton\u2026 Jesus Christ. <\/p>\n<p>Via: <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBA_University?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@NBA_University<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2J6LjonQMQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/2J6LjonQMQ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Follow HeavenlyBuckets (@Heavenlybuckets) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Heavenlybuckets\/status\/1844477446395134243?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 10, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Middleton h<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as struggled with injuries over the last couple of seasons, playing in 55 games last season and only 33 games the year before. The Bucks desperately need Middleton\u2019s offensive playmaking and defensive versatility if they are going to compete with the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/03\/2024-25-nba-betting-preview-new-york-knicks-win-total-odds\/\" target=\"_self\">best of the Eastern Conference.<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Doc Rivers Provides Optimistic Middleton Injury Update<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On Wednesday, the Bucks had their first full practice since the start of the season. After the practice, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.jsonline.com\/story\/sports\/nba\/bucks\/2024\/10\/30\/milwaukee-bucks-khris-middleton-injury-report-status-updated-wont-play-at-memphis\/75924785007\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rivers spoke with the media<\/a> and expressed optimism about Middleton\u2019s return. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHe did a lot today\u2026so he\u2019s getting close.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That update should be music to the ears for Milwaukee fans. Rivers still didn\u2019t provide a timeline for Middleton\u2019s return, but any positive news should have the Bucks in good spirits. Middleton remains out for the Bucks&#8217; next game against the Grizzlies, but the Bucks hope that he won\u2019t miss many more before joining the team.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Adrian Griffin with the Bucks: 30-13<\/p>\n<p>Doc Rivers with the Bucks: 18-21 <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/eNPih6UFld\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/eNPih6UFld<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LegionHoops\/status\/1851009329387712690?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 28, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Bucks may need to utilize their G League team, the Wisconsin Herd, to get Middleton some five-on-five runs. This will be the last step before Middleton is completely ready to join the team and hopefully help the Bucks turn their season around.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Bucks Need Help\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Bucks are in desperate need of some help. After beating the hobbled Sixers on their opening night, the Bucks have now lost three games in a row. Two of those losses came against weaker Eastern Conference teams like the Nets and Bulls.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Bucks\u2019 two stars, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/02\/top-5-nba-power-forwards-heading-into-the-2024-25-season\/\" target=\"_self\">Antetokounmpo<\/a> and Lillard, haven\u2019t been the issue for Milwaukee, it is their supporting cast. NBA champions and Bucks fan favorites <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/portibo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bobby Portis<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lopezbr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brook Lopez<\/a> have been tied for the <del>third-highest<\/del> scorers on the team this season, but it hasn\u2019t been enough.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lopez currently is scoring at the lowest average of his career and is only shooting 36.4% from the field and an awful 23.8% from three. Portis is also averaging his lowest scoring total since joining the Bucks. Although it is still early, and the Bucks have plenty of time to turn things around, one thing is clear: the most recent Khris Middleton injury update is bringing some much-needed hope to Milwaukee.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Milwaukee Bucks are off to a slow start to the 2024-25 season. They currently sit near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, with a record of 1-3. In the second season of the star pairing of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, the Bucks are hoping to get on the right track sooner rather [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5284,"featured_media":104231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,15,62,3],"tags":[1255,233,187,190,306,324,4745],"class_list":["post-104215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-bucks","category-nba","category-news","tag-bobby-portis","tag-brook-lopez","tag-damian-lillard","tag-doc-rivers","tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","tag-khris-middleton","tag-nba-injuries"],"modified_by":"Kenny Kluska","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5284"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104215\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}