Five Actual Silver Linings to Khris Middleton’s Injury

Khris Middleton is out. Bucks fans are sad. And so it goes.

But life must go on, so here are five real, totally not delusional at all reasons to keep your head up about the Khris Middleton injury.

No Pressure

Phew. That was close, huh? I mean imagine if Khris Middleton was still healthy, and the Bucks were still expected to make a run at the playoffs... Could you imagine? Say the team wins just 30 games, and questions start to arise about the legitimacy of the current core. I can just see the headlines now...

BUCKS STUCK IN MEDIOCRITY YET AGAIN: HOW MUCH LONGER CAN THEY GIVE THIS CORE? — Sports Illustrated

MILWAUKEE BUCKS FAIL TO BOUNCE BACK, PROMPT CITY OFFICIALS TO ASK ‘WHAT EXACTLY DID WE PAY FOR AGAIN?’ — CBS Sports

‘THEY JUST DON’T HAVE THE JUICE TO CONTEND’; NBA VETERAN WEIGHS IN ON BUCKS DISAPPOINTING YEAR — Racine Journal Times

Well all the haters can eat it, and you know why? Because we have an excuse now!

Another year off

And you know what’s gonna happen now that they have no reason to make the playoffs and that this year doesn’t matter any more? THAT’S RIGHT, ANOTHER DEVELOPMENT YEAR. Think about it — how relieved were we all last year when it became apparent that the season had been lost and we could just say “Okay well, yeah they lost, but it doesn’t really matter...at least the young guys played well” to any game?

Oh man, that was my favorite. No pressure, no problem. Playoffs? Meh. They’re bound to disappoint anyways. Last year’s sh**fest all over again, though? Arguing over whether the Bucks are trying too hard to win games? Making Tankathon.com my home page? Sign me up. I can already feel the weight of the expectations fading away...

Getting back to what really matters

It’s Own the Future, guys, not own the present.

How old is Khris anyways, 25? BORING. Meanwhile, Giannis and Jabari are barely legal. Rashad is still just 20. Malcom Brogdon may be 23, but at least he hasn’t been rotting away in the league for four years. My boy Thon is still in his teens (well...officially at least). Now that’s a team I can get behind.

I mean, really, Khris was just in the way of these guys anyways. You know how many times he shot the ball last year? TOO MANY. Eff that, dude. Let’s let our boys eat.

Let’s get big

You know what completely resolves a positional log jam? An injury to your most played player.

That’s right, people — I’m talking Moose. I’m talking Plumlord. I’m even talking John mother-effing “Hook” Henson. Playing time for DAYS.

Let’s get Monroe some trade value.

Let’s get Johnny that starting job we’ve always wanted him to have.

Let’s show off our shiny new long-term signing.

Who cares if none of these guys should ever share the court at the same time? Remember, this season doesn’t matter. We were set free from the chains of expectations 433 words ago, and we’re going to let the “modern NBA” tell us we can’t do something? The modern NBA wishes.

A week ago, there was never going to be enough minutes to go around to accomplish all three of these things for all three guys. But now? All the time in the world, baby. All the time in the world.

Adversity fosters success

We always talk about how great Khris Middleton is, how much he bails the team out late in games, how essential his shooting is, yada yada yada. Personally, I’m sick of it. I’m sick of this young team with this supposedly bright future falling back on some ancient 25- year-old whenever things get tough. It’s bullsh**, and it needs to stop. This is a basketball team, not a retirement home.

I want to see what this team is really made of. I want to see its grit. I want to see its fire, its zest, its passion. And quite frankly, that was never going to happen with Khris around as a crutch all the time.

I mean think about it, last year the team shipped away arguably the team’s two biggest crutches, and look what happened — we got Point Freaking Giannis. Imagine what the basketball gods will give us this time. “Stopper” Jabari? “Swift” Greg? “Traded” Michael? I can’t wait.

In Conclusion...

Ah, sh**.