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Giannis, Damian Lillard, and Khris Middleton Land on Bucks Injury Report vs Magic

Matt Levine

Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
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The Milwaukee Bucks will be taking on the Orlando Magic on Friday. They are coming off a win over the San Antonio Spurs and will be trying to keep the winning going.

However, they could be without a few players as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, and Khris Middleton all have landed on the initial injury report. All three stars are listed as probable so they are likely to play barring any unforeseen issues coming up.

Before the game against the Spurs, the Bucks made the decision to bench Middleton from the starting five. The move came as a shock due to the status of the veteran wing but it seemed to do the trick for Milwaukee.

Middleton has been battling back from offseason surgery and his health just isn't where it needs to be yet. Bucks head coach Doc Rivers spoke on this after the fact and revealed more reasoning behind the move.

"It's just not improving to the place he wants it or we want it, so we just got to monitor," Rivers said about Middleton's health. "We're cutting his minutes back a little bit and just trying to make sure he gets through this."

"The bottom line is just not moving every night the way you like to," Rivers said. "One night you see, moving great. One night, he's not. Minutes go up and down.

Middleton has been inconsistent in his play so far this season and the Bucks need him to find real success this year. With him coming off the bench, the Bucks feel like he can help spark their second unit more than he could the starting lineup.

Co-star Damian Lillard spoke on the benching of Middleton.

"I think it just makes us an even stronger team. Khris coming off of surgery and missing some time, we had to get settled a certain way," point guard Damian Lillard said. "He's going to be in a position to do more in that second group and it also makes us that much better. ... It just gives you an opportunity where you don't have to have me and Giannis [Antetokounmpo] on the court one or the other hard time. You got another great player out there, and it's hell for the other team's bench to have to deal with. So I think it just makes us better and it just creates a lot of balance for us."

More Bucks: Damian Lillard Responds to Khris Middleton Coming Off Bench

We will get more information about the status of the three players closer to tip-off tomorrow but it seems that Milwaukee will have their guys ready to go.

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Matt Levine
MATT LEVINE

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