Charles F. Gardner

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

SALT LAKE CITY - All signs are pointing to Khris Middleton’s return to the Milwaukee Bucks lineup very soon.

Middleton said after the team’s morning shootaround Wednesday that he would not be back during the Bucks’ three-game western swing.

But after that?

Middleton said “there’s a chance” he could return before the all-star break that starts Feb. 16.

“I’ve been ready for a while,” Middleton said, “but I’ve got to be smart about it and make sure I’m 100% ready to go out there and play.”

Bucks coach Jason Kidd said Middleton had a very good practice in Salt Lake City on Tuesday and indicated the player was going "full-throttle." The Bucks went for 1 1/2 hours and Middleton was able to go through that and Wednesday's shootaround on the Utah Jazz court.

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“He’s doing everything; he hasn’t been subbed out for anything,” Kidd said. “It’s all contact. He’s doing great.”

Middleton suffered a torn left hamstring in September during a one-on-one drill before training camp even started. He underwent surgery and initially was expected to miss four to six months.

Kidd said previously that Middleton would be on a minutes restriction when he returns. But the 6-foot-8 shooting guard could give a boost to a slumping Bucks team that has lost eight of the last nine games, entering a matchup against Utah on Wednesday.

“Every team goes through a slump during the season,” Middleton said. “It’s just a matter of how fast can you get out of it.

“You’ve just got to dig deeper. But I think we’re trying to do the right things. We’re saying the right things. We just have to go out there and play and win games.”

After this week the Bucks (21-26) will have five games remaining before the break, including three home games. They host Miami on Feb. 8 and the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 10.

Milwaukee plays at Indiana on Feb. 11, home against Detroit on Feb. 13 and at Brooklyn on Feb. 15.

“If he doesn’t come back until after the break, it will be great because this is someone we were talking about not having at all this season,” Kidd said.

“Whenever he does decide to come back, before or after the break, that will be helpful.”

Kidd said 7-foot-1 rookie Thon Maker will be the starting center for the second straight game, after contributing four points, two rebounds and one block in 11 minutes against Boston in the Bucks' 112-108 overtime loss on Saturday night.

“He did well,” Kidd said. “We won’t make any lineup changes. We’ll go the same way.”

Jabari Parker, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Tony Snell, Matthew Dellavedova and Maker will form the Bucks starting five against the Jazz (30-19). The cozy and loud venue in Utah has been a no-win situation for the Bucks, who have lost 14 straight games in Salt Lake City, dating to October 30, 2001. Ray Allen scored 32 points to pace the Bucks the last time they won in Utah, a 119-112 overtime decision in the season opener that year.

The Jazz leads the all-time series, 50-43, including a 30-17 home record.

The trip to Utah has been a homecoming of sorts for Bucks assistant general manager Justin Zanik, who helped build the Jazz roster in three years with the franchise. Plenty of friends and Jazz employees greeted Zanik at the arena Wednesday morning as he attended the Bucks shootaround session.