Bucks’ Khris Middleton will make his season debut on Friday against the Celtics

MILWAUKEE – Three-time All-Star Khris Middleton plans to make his season debut Friday night against the Boston Celtics, a source confirmed The athlete. ESPN was the first to report it.

After offseason procedures on both ankles, Middleton missed the first 21 games of the season. Before the Bucks played the Miami Heat on November 26, Middleton participated in a five-on-five session for the first time. Since being fully back on the floor, Middleton has participated in two more five-on-five sessions, including a session Wednesday morning before the Bucks’ loss to the Atlanta Hawks. As long as Middleton doesn’t suffer any discomfort or setbacks in the next 36 hours, Middleton will play for the first time this season on Friday.

“He works hard,” coach Doc Rivers said before Wednesday night’s game. “He’s doing everything he’s supposed to do, but he still needs to get on the ground. We feel like that’s coming soon, and you’ve heard this before, so we’re just hoping it comes really soon.”

During training camp, Middleton said The athlete that a successful season for him would involve playing at least “70, 75 games,” and Rivers told reporters he was confident Middleton would play in one of the Bucks’ preseason games, but Middleton’s road to the game took much longer than anyone else’s the organization previously expected.

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The Bucks started the season poorly with a 2-8 performance, but recently responded by winning nine of their last 11 games and clawing their way back to an 11-10 record, which currently puts them in fifth place in the playoffs. Rating of the Eastern Conference brings.

“Anyone who wants to play, and Khris is one of them, is frustrated,” Rivers said. “It’s a mental challenge. You see how your team is playing and although we are playing well at the moment, I can imagine that when we were really struggling and he wasn’t playing it must have been really difficult for him. You want to help your team and he knows he can.”

While Middleton battled countless injuries last season, he averaged 15.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 27 minutes per game while shooting 49.3 percent from the field and 38.1 percent shot from behind the 3-point line. Even if Middleton plays limited minutes when he returns, his presence has generally given the Bucks a big boost.

With Middleton on the court last season, the Bucks outscored their opponents by 3.7 points per 100 possessions. When Middleton shared the floor with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, the Bucks outscored their opponents by 16.3 points per 100 possessions.

Currently, according to Cleaning the Glass, lineups with Antetokounmpo and Lillard on the court are outscored by 0.1 points per 100 possessions.

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(Photo: Jeff Hanisch / USA Today)