The Milwaukee Bucks will be without Khris Middleton for Sunday's home game versus the Atlanta Hawks, but there is no need to sound the alarms. This is all part of the team's plan. That's right, load management is in full effect at the Fiserv Forum.

“It is right knee injury management on the back-to-back,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Jim Owczarski reported Saturday. “He is expected to play vs. the Heat Monday. Middleton participated in the team's individual day on Friday and practiced today.”

The Bucks' caution is unfortunate but perfectly understandable given the guard's troubled medical history. They are in championship or bust mode and will make it a top priority to preserve Middleton's health for the postseason. This philosophy does not always pay dividends in the end, however. Sometimes, no amount of load management can cure chronic injury problems.

The three-time All-Star scored six points on 2-of-5 shooting in just 16 minutes of action in Milwaukee's season-opening win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday. Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin knows, just like the fans, how valuable a healthy Khris Middleton is to the team's title aspirations. His superb NBA Finals showing (24 points per game) versus the Phoenix Suns in 2021 boosted the Bucks to their second ever championship.

But that star-level production feels like a lifetime ago following wrist and knee issues. The 32-year-old will keep pushing through the adversity and hope to inch closer back to his top form. He should be fresh for Monday's meeting with the Miami Heat.