Charles F. Gardner

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

It’s tempting to wonder how the Milwaukee Bucks would look with Khris Middleton back in the lineup.

Put him in the starting five with young stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker, and the Bucks could have the potential to be a dangerous playoff team in a few months.

Middleton is confident he will return this season, and although no timetable has been established it’s clear he is making steady progress in his recovery from surgery for a torn left hamstring.

The 25-year-old shooting guard was on the Bucks’ trip to Cleveland this week and has been supporting his teammates during games and in the locker room.

And he has been doing light jogging and shooting under the watchful eye of Bucks trainers and coaches at the Cousins Center, although he is being careful to follow each step in the recovery process.

“I’m making good progress within the last couple weeks but I’ve still got a long way to go,” Middleton said before the Bucks played the Cavaliers on Wednesday.

“A hamstring is definitely nothing to play with. There are chronic hamstring injuries where guys think it is fine and they go out there and try to run and pull it again. That’s something I definitely don’t want to go through.”

The Bucks suffered a stunning blow before training camp even started when Middleton tore his hamstring during a 1-on-1 workout. Coming off his third season in Milwaukee, in which he averaged 18.2 points, 4.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds in 79 games, Middleton had emerged as a three-point threat, solid defender and clutch late-game shooter and was a key player in Milwaukee's starting lineup. The summer before, the Bucks had rewarded him with a 5-year, $70 millioncontract.

At the time of his injury near the end of September, it was thought he could be out for six months or possibly the entire season.

“I feel like I’ll definitely be back this year, barring a setback or anything like that,” Middleton said. “But the way this team is playing, I’m not going to rush.

“They’re doing a great job of winning ball games and fighting each night. I just will take my time, and they’re all (his teammates) telling me the same thing.”

Middleton said the earliest he thought he could return was around the all-star break in mid-February, which would give him a chance to play the final two months of the regular season.

“That was just if everything went perfectly,” he said. “So hopefully things go that way.”

The Bucks are 13-14 entering Friday’s home game against the Washington Wizards (13-15), a team they could be battling with for an Eastern Conference playoff berth or positioning at the end of the season.

Middleton said he believes the Bucks are a playoff team with or without him.

“Giannis and Jabari have been playing at a high level all year, which is great,” Middleton said. “They’re making huge strides since last year, and so has the whole team as a unit.

“We had a lot of new guys and they found a way to bond quickly on the court. They figured things out on the fly. The guys have done a great job of buying into the system and playing with each other out there.”

One key contribution from Middleton has been his tutelage of Tony Snell, the player the Bucks acquired from the Chicago Bulls to fill the shooting guard role in Middleton’s absence.

“Mostly I’ve tried to help him take care of his body,” Middleton said. “He has come to me and said he hasn’t played this many minutes before and asked me what I did last year and the years before to keep my body fresh.

“I just try to help him out when I see things on the court, like I do with everybody. I try to give him a tip about how to react to a certain situation.”

The 6-foot-8 Snell has taken the task of defending some of the top scorers in the league.

“He’s a really good defender and a competitor, too,” Middleton said. “He fights every night.

“He takes on challenges and that’s what I love about him. He’s been doing a great job all year and I just can’t wait to get back and play with him.”

During his recovery, Middleton has worked under the tutelage of Bucks director of performance Troy Flanagan and trainers Scott Faust, Tim O’Leary and Suki Hobson. Coach Jason Kidd and assistant Eric Hughes stayed after practice earlier this week to watch Middleton do some light running and shooting.

“All the coaches have been helping me get shots, get rhythm and just helping me mentally with it,” Middleton said.

“And they’re telling me when I’m laboring some or trying to protect my hamstring, just to slow down and do it at the pace that feels right and with the right technique.”

Potential playoff foe? Kyrie Irving was asked after the Cavaliers beat the Bucks on back-to-back nights if he could see them as a possible foe in the first round of the playoffs in April.

“I hope,” Irving said. “They’re a great young team. It would be great to go four games against them. I’m fired up to go against them every time now.

“After they kicked our (expletive) in Milwaukee. It’s been personal, and it’s going to continue to be personal.”

The Bucks won the first meeting, 118-101, on Nov. 29 and had a shot at a second straight victory before falling to the Cavaliers, 114-108, in overtime Tuesday. Cleveland dominated in its 113-102 win at home on Wednesday night. Irving had 31 points and a career-high 13 assists in a spectacular showing Wednesday.

"It's not sensational when you're on the other end," Bucks guard and former Cavaliers player Matthew Dellavedova said of Irving. "He's obviously a special player and it's a tough cover for any team."