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The Bucks’ title defense took a serious hit Thursday. All-Star swingman Khris Middleton will miss at least the next two weeks with an MCL sprain, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Middleton injured his knee in Milwaukee’s Game 2 loss against the Bulls—a series now tied at one game apiece. The injury will keep Middleton out for the rest of the first round. With the conference semifinals starting on May 3 at the latest, if Milwaukee were to advance, Middleton’s availability for the start of that series is also in question. Two weeks from April 21 is May 5.
Middleton played in 66 games during the regular season. He was a member of nine of the Bucks’ ten most-used lineups. Milwaukee’s eighth most-used lineup was the first not to feature Middleton. That group—Jrue Holiday, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis, Pat Connaughton, and Grayson Allen—played 50 minutes together, posting a minus-8.0 net rating in that time.
