Khris Middleton is ready for a full workload for the Milwaukee Bucks' playoff run

The Milwaukee Bucks appear to be beginning the 2022-23 playoffs at full strength as Khris Middleton, Grayson Allen and Pat Connaughton all practiced in full for the second time this week in advance of Game 1 vs. the Miami Heat on Sunday afternoon.

Middleton had aggravated a right knee injury early in the game against Chicago on April 5 and exited after about nine minutes of action. He said Saturday he played the additional minutes to see if the pain would go away, but once it didn’t he insisted it didn’t create any additional anxiety for him.

“It took about two days to kind of get it to go away and get back to being myself,” Middleton said. “Doing a little bit more rehab this past couple days. The long break I think has been great for everybody to freshen up and that’s exactly what I tried to do, take advantage of this time to get my body right.”

Middleton didn’t play the final two games of the regular season, along with Bucks' other key players.

“Jrue and Brook and Giannis and those guys, I think after the Chicago game, didn’t play so he most likely wasn’t going to play a lot more,” Budenholzer said after Thursday’s practice. “I think (Middleton was) able to get some work done and some stuff that hopefully keeps him strong. So, there’s an acknowledgement that there was a little bit of an aggravation and things like that, but there’s also, I think, been some positive to prepare him for playing (in the postseason) and being his best.”

Middleton had missed 18 games from Dec. 17-Jan. 21 with right knee soreness and then gradually worked his way back with minutes restrictions. He played 20 minutes or fewer in his first seven games back (Jan. 23-Feb. 4) and then graduated to about 24 minutes per game over seven games from Feb. 6-March 4 before rejoining the starting lineup on March 7.

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In his 11 games from then through his injury against Chicago, he averaged 30.5 minutes per game and scored 19.9 points on 47% shooting. He also averaged 7.0 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game and recorded two double-doubles.

“That’s exactly what it was, getting back to some type of normalcy,” Middleton said. “Playing those minutes, being in the starting lineup, playing with a lot of those main guys out there, I felt like I’d been doing it for years. I’d been saying it, my body was feeling great for a while up to that point so it wasn’t a huge a confidence reach. It was a little bit to say, OK, yeah, I could still do this, but I felt more like myself again in that role and in those minutes.”

In his 33 regular season games, Middleton never played 34 minutes or more but Budenholzer and Middleton said, if needed, he will be ready to play many more than that to win crucial playoff games, including Game 1 against the Heat at 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

“Yeah. I mean, look, if you need to be playing all these minutes – hopefully we won’t – I think that’s what the playoffs are for,” Middleton said. “You gotta be ready for any type of circumstances, playing any type, amount of minutes. If need be (and) I’d have to play 55 minutes, hopefully I’ll be out there and be able to do it.”

Giannis, Lopez, Portis, Holiday finalists for NBA awards

The NBA announced finalists for the most valuable player, defensive player of the year and sixth man of the year awards, and the Bucks were well-represented.

Giannis Antetokounmpo joined two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokić and two-time runner-up Joel Embiid as MVP finalists. Antetokounmpo won the award in back-to-back seasons in 2019-20.

Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr. and Cleveland’s Evan Mobley joined Lopez in the mix for the top defensive honors. Should Lopez win, he would be the oldest player to do so at 35 years old. Antetokounmpo (2020) and Sidney Moncrief (1983-84) have won the award previously for the Bucks.

Boston’s Malcolm Brogdon and New York’s Immanuel Quickley are Portis’ competition for the top reserve. Ricky Pierce (1987, 1990) won the award previously for Milwaukee.

On March 30, Jrue Holiday was named as one of 12 finalists for the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year award. He is the only player to have won that award twice (2022 with Milwaukee, 2020 with New Orleans).

“I don’t know about the teammate award – I don’t even know who votes on that – I think it was not my teammates,” Holiday deadpanned. “But I mean for the other guys on the team who are nominated for things, they should get it. They’ve proven it the whole year. The stat sheet shows it. The record shows it. It’s easy for me. But maybe I’m biased.”

Antetokounmpo, Holiday and Lopez will all also be in consideration for all-NBA and all-defensive teams.

Bucks associate coach Charles Lee in consideration for Pistons job

While the Bucks begin their playoff run, some teams left on the outside looking in are changing their head coaches. Houston and Detroit already have coaching vacancies, and Bucks associate head coach Charles Lee has been granted permission to interview for the positions.

Lee has been in the interviewing cycle the last few seasons, but he was promoted to associate head coach at the beginning of this year after Darvin Ham got the Los Angeles Lakers head job.

“Charles Lee is, I think, one of the top guys in our league,” Budenholzer said. “Hopefully his time and his opportunity and the right fit for a team and an organization and for him is coming. But the best way to do that is to be great at the job you’re doing, and he’s great. He’s great as the associated head coach. He’s great as somebody the players the trust, the players believe in, the players follow his lead. I trust him to the nth degree. He’s been with me forever. He’s just a really good coach and a really good person.”

Budenholzer then chuckled.

“If he stays here forever I guess that wouldn’t be the end of the world, too,” he continued. “But my guess is somebody’s going to be very wise and take him. We want to support him through this process and he’s going to focus where it should be, on us preparing and on us being our best in the playoffs. We will see what happens with Charles.”

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bucks' Khris Middleton ready for full NBA playoffs workload