LAS VEGAS — Milwaukee Bucks guard Khris Middleton missed practice Monday because of illness, leaving his status for the NBA Cup final against the Oklahoma City Thunder unclear.
The Bucks and Thunder play for the Cup on Tuesday night.
Bucks star Damian Lillard also did not practice Monday after feeling some discomfort in his right calf, but he said he expected to play in Tuesday’s final. Lillard said he felt some discomfort during the second quarter of Saturday’s semifinal against the Atlanta Hawks.
“I just kind of irritated it a little bit, so it was just some discomfort,” Lillard said Monday afternoon. “When I have something with my calf, sometimes I start panicking. But I knew it wasn’t nothing serious. Just a little irritation. So I’ve just been doing treatment and doing all the stuff to try to get ahead of it and just get ready for tomorrow.”
Lillard has played in all but three games this season for Milwaukee, averaging 25.7 points, 7.5 assists on 45% shooting.
Middleton has played in only four games this season, averaging 7 points, 5.8 assists and 3 rebounds. He missed the Bucks’ first 21 games while recovering from offseason surgeries on both of his ankles.
The three-time All-Star, who was part of Milwaukee’s NBA championship and USA Basketball’s run to Olympic gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021, had six points for the Bucks on Saturday in the team’s semifinal win over Atlanta as the team works to incorporate him back into the lineup.
“He’s smart enough to find his way into it, and obviously we’re going to have a lot of opportunity for him,” Lillard said Monday. “The opportunity will be there, but we’re not going to try to force it or nothing like that.
“We’ve got a good thing going. We’ve figured out a lot of things. I don’t think he’s someone we need to overly help or be concerned with working him in. It will happen organically.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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