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Are Milwaukee Bucks Going to Start Their Season Without Veteran Star? Report
Milwaukee Bucks have a brilliant team but look like their injury concerns are not going away as they look to win another title.
Khris Middleton, the star forward for the Bucks, may require additional time to recover before the 2024–25 season begins.
Before the Bucks' training camp begins on Tuesday, Middleton has not yet been cleared for five-on-five scrimmages, according to insider Chris Haynes. Middleton, a three-time All-Star, had surgery on both of his ankles this offseason, and he is still recovering.
Middleton is "progressing nicely," according to Haynes, but the team is being cautious and won't likely rush him back into playing time. Except for five-on-five basketball, the three-time All-Star is anticipated to participate in most of the Bucks' training camp activities.
Throughout the previous two seasons, Middleton's lower extremity injuries caused him to miss 88 games in total. His injury problems started in the 2022 NBA playoffs when he sprained his MCL in Game 2 of the Bucks' first-round series against the Bulls.
After that, he was sidelined during Milwaukee's upset loss to Miami in the first round of the playoffs and missed 49 games during the regular season in 2022-2023.
Middleton missed 27 games during the regular season last year due to another ankle sprain he sustained halfway through. Even though Middleton made a comeback during the playoffs and scored a career-high 42 points against the Pacers, his nagging ankles significantly limited his ability to move laterally on the defensive end of the court. That would account for his decision to have both ankle surgeries done in the off-season.
Middleton averaged 15.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists despite missing most of the previous two seasons due to injuries. In contrast, between the 2019-20 and 2021-22 seasons, when the Bucks were considered real title contenders, the shooting wing averaged more than 20 points per game for three straight seasons.
Despite having a fantastic duo in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, the Bucks may find it difficult to compete with the East's elite teams, including the Celtics, 76ers, and Knicks, if Middleton is unable to regain that scoring form. The Bucks, behind the Celtics, Thunder, Knicks, 76ers, Nuggets, Mavericks, and Timberwolves, have the eighth-shortest odds to win the championship at the start of the season.
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