Bucks Injury Report: Khris Middleton Given Final Game Status For Bulls Clash

Ricardo Klein | 7 Hours Ago

Dec 20, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton (22) shoots over the defense of Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus (1) during the first half at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Bucks will take on the Chicago Bulls in what will be their 28th game of the 2024-25 season. The Bucks will look for their 16th win against the season, and fortunately, they will have their star forward Khris Middleton on the floor.

The Bucks have upgraded Middleton from probable to available.

Injury Update from the Bucks:

Giannis Antetokounmpo, AJ Johnson (Non-Covid Illness), Damian Lillard (Non-Covid Illness) and Chris Livingston are out for tonight’s game at Chicago.

Khris Middleton is available. https://t.co/FllYPyf4Yt

— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) December 23, 2024

Middleton will play in his seventh game of the season on Monday. He was on the injury report due to his ankle issues. Middleton has struggled to stay on the court these past handful of years. Due to a variety of injuries, he was only limited to 33 games in the 2022-23 season and 55 games last season. Middleton missed the first 21 games of the season after recovering from surgery on both ankles.

The Bucks are still slowly easing Middleton back after he missed the first month of the season recovering from two ankle surgeries in the offseason.

So far this season, the veteran forward has struggled, averaging 10.0 points per game, 5.7 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 steals while shooting 35.8 percent from the field and 40 percent from three in six games and 21.3 minutes per game.

However, he is coming off his best outing, scoring a season-high 18 points on 50 percent shooting from the field, eight assists, six rebounds and one steal in 24 minutes of action.

While Middleton will be on the court, the Bucks will be without their top two players, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.

Antetokounmpo was listed as questionable prior to Monday's game due to a back issue. He will now be out for this game. Antetokounmpo will miss his second consecutive game after he was held out of Saturday's win over Washington due to back spasms. 

With the superstar now sidelined, Bobby Portis will likely draw another start, with Taurean Prince seeing an uptick in playing time. Antetokounmpo is having an MVP-like season so far, averaging 32.7 points per game, 11.6 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.5 blocks while shooting 61 percent from the field.

As for Lillard, he is listed as out with a calf issue. 

He will miss his third consecutive outing while he deals with a right calf strain. The Bucks' other backcourt pieces, like AJ Green, Gary Trent, and Ryan Rollins, will all see an uptick in playing time. This injury is a lingering issue for the 34-year-old, who is having an All-Star-level season once again. Lillard is averaging 25.7 points per game, 7.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.0 steals while shooting 45 percent from the field and 37 percent from three in 22 games and 36.4 minutes of action.

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