The Milwaukee Bucks are beginning to look like the team we all know they are capable of being. They are still only 7-8 on the NBA season, but they are starting to get healthier and it is starting to be reflected in their performance on the court.
Milwaukee defeated the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night 109-102 as Khris Middleton made his return to the court. Middleton had missed eight consecutive games after landing in the league’s health and safety protocols for testing positive for COVID-19.
The team went 3-5 without him and are certainly happy to get him back in the fold. Wednesday’s game was only the third time that Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday and Middleton shared the floor. In those three games, the Bucks are 3-0.
While Holiday and Middleton struggled offensively against the Lakers, Giannis Antetokounmpo was there to pick up the slack. The Greek Freak was dominant, as Los Angeles had no answers to slow him down.
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He scored a season-high 47 points, scoring in a multitude of ways. He was 18-of-23 from the field, making 3-of-4 of his 3-point attempts and 8-of-11 from the foul line. When he is shooting the ball that well, there is just no way to slow him down.
He rounded out his stat line with nine rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in 36 minutes of action. Middleton had high praise for his teammate.
“He made it look easy tonight,” Middleton said. “Got to his spots, was patient. Didn’t necessarily try to force his way through too many guys. If he saw an extra body, he tried to find the open man. It was just great as far as picking his spots and getting to his spots and being comfortable and being just him. His best version of himself.”
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Having Middleton back in the lineup took some of the attention off Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had been the center of attention for opposing defenses. With another player capable of carrying the load offensively now in the lineup, he will be even tougher to stop on a nightly basis.
With those three back in the lineup and getting healthier, the Milwaukee Bucks should return to the level of performance we are used to seeing them at.
