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The Chicago Bulls‘ odds of advancing beyond their first-round matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks got a big boost after the reigning champs lost Khris Middleton to an MCL sprain with about 7:30 remaining in the game.
Appearing on ESPN’s “Get Up” with Mike Greenberg, Brian Windhorst gave an early update on the Bucks forward.
“The initial testing in Milwaukee, I am told, is a mild MCL sprain. Now, that is good news. And the MRI today, the Bucks are hoping is going to confirm that…the average return from that type of injury is 2-4 weeks. So even in the best-case scenario here, you are looking at Middleton being out the rest of this series”.
Dario Melendez of WISN12 News reported that Middleton is expected to miss “3-4 weeks”.
Windhorst put a bow on it at the end.
“This is a real blow to the defending champs.”
Middleton In Game 2
Middleton was a driving force behind the Bucks’ rally in the third quarter that saw them cut the Bulls’ lead down to three points before Chicago pulled away again. Middleton led Milwaukee with 13 points in the third quarter.
He hit their first shot of the frame nearly two minutes into the second half and, after six straight misses by his teammates, canned their second.
Both were threes and the 10-year vet hit two more before heading into the fourth.
The play in which he got injured seemed innocuous – he was driving on Bulls guard Alex Caruso and went down while trying to make a move.
He would not return and the Bulls walked away victorious with Game 3 on tap for Friday back in Chicago where they had the third-best home record in the Eastern Conference during the regular season.
Going Forward
Greenberg then shared some numbers that should make Bulls fans’ ears perk up. He said the Bucks’ “Big 3” are 86-34 when they play together, a .717 win percentage. However, when just one of them is inactive, they are just 25-22 which is a .532 win percentage.
They are above .500 in either instance, sure. But there is a clear advantage to not having to face them at full strength.
ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg was also a guest during the segment and gave his grim take on what Middleton’s injury means.
“Look at the guys that can replace those minutes and that productivity. Pat Connaughton, maybe? I’m not sure they have a replacement for him. Whether it’s one game, one week, or two weeks this is huge.”
Middleton – who had 15 points, six assists, six rebounds, and two steals in Game 1 – finished with 18 points, eight assists, five boards, and another pair of steals. He missed just 16 games this season. To Mike Greenberg’s point, the Bucks went 7-9 in those games.
Unfortunately, one of those wins came against the Bulls coming in their second-to-last meeting, a 126-98 drubbing by Milwaukee on March 22.
Now It’s a Series
There’s a saying in the NBA that a series has not really begun until the road team gets a victory. While the Bulls could very easily backslide again as we saw them do in the regular season, what they have done in the first two games of this series are repeatable.
Their hustle on defense, ball movement, and overall composure in an environment that has been as hostile to them as any in recent years bodes well for their chances in Game 3 even before Middleton went down.
Only 31 of the 435 teams that have gone down 0-2 in a series have gone on to win it, per Land of Basketball. That is just 7.1% of the time. Now, it would seem, the Bulls have a bit of fortune on their side. They certainly have a better chance of moving on now.
The crew also gave a shoutout to DeMar DeRozan for his playoff career-high 41 points that had Twitter going crazy.
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