Milwaukee Bucks assistant general manager Milt Newton seemingly holds the opinion that Milwaukee will be “unbeatable” in a best-of-seven series if Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton are all healthy for the playoffs.
“Healthy Dame — we didn’t have Giannis — and a healthy Giannis and a healthy Khris in the playoffs, we haven’t seen that,” Newton said of a Bucks organization that was knocked out in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs. “And I believe that when that happens, we’ll be an unbeatable team. We’ll be an unbeatable team.”
Lillard wasn’t a member of the Bucks until shortly before the start of the 2023-24 campaign, but the last time that Antetokounmpo and Middleton were both available for almost an entire playoff run, Milwaukee won an NBA title.
In 2021, the Bucks captured their first title in 50 years, and Middleton and Antetokounmpo were arguably Milwaukee’s best players during its title run.
Starting with the former, Middleton played in every one of the Bucks’ 23 games during the 2021 NBA Playoffs and averaged 23.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He also converted 43.8 percent of his looks from the field and shot 34.3 percent from 3-point range.
As for the latter, Antetokounmpo missed only two playoff games for the Bucks that year and averaged 30.2 points, 12.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.2 blocks per contest. He took home the Finals MVP award as well after Milwaukee eliminated the Phoenix Suns in six games in the championship series.
While Antetokounmpo and Middleton have championship experience and know what it takes to make a deep playoff run, the problem with Newton’s sentiment is that one of the two players has dealt with availability issues in the playoffs in each of the past few years.
In the 2022 NBA Playoffs, Middleton played in just two of 12 games during the team’s run, and the Bucks lost to the Boston Celtics in the second round.
In the 2023 NBA Playoffs, Antetokounmpo was only able to play significant minutes in two out of five games (and he missed two games entirely) as the Bucks were stunned in the first round by the Miami Heat.
Most recently, Milwaukee suffered another first-round exit in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, and Antetokounmpo was sidelined for the entirety of the series against the Indiana Pacers.
This coming season could be one where Middleton and Antetokounmpo are healthy for the playoffs, but recent history suggests that isn’t a guarantee. Moreover, even if they are good to go, Lillard will need to remain healthy as well in order for Newton’s vision to come true, and he missed a couple of games himself during Milwaukee’s series against Indiana last season.
