Milwaukee Bucks open with impressive road win; 3 takeaways

2. Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe struggled

Not everyone is going to bring their best version of themselves every single night. For Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe, though, both of them brought what was pretty close to the worst version of themselves against Houston.

With new contracts in hand, Middleton and Bledsoe each scored 11 points and each had four made field goals on the night. While Bledsoe’s 4-for-12 performance is quite inefficient at 33 percent from the field, it’s not nearly as hideous as Middleton’s (4-for-16, or 25 percent). Neither player was able to make much of an impact on the offensive end.

Bledsoe played just 16 minutes, as coacj Mike Budenholzer looked to George Hill to take over and conduct the Milwaukee Bucks on offense for large chunks of the contest. This doesn’t bode well for Bledsoe, who signed a four-year extension in March — worth $70 million.

Middleton, however, led all Bucks with 33 minutes played. To put it bluntly: It was just a very rough night. With that in mind, he’s a strong candidate to not repeat that kind of performance for quite some time. Aside from Giannis Antetokounmpo, Middleton is known for being the most consistent presence on the team.

In order for Milwaukee to succeed long-term, it’ll need both Middleton and his point guard, Bledsoe, to play better. Until it becomes a trend, though, there isn’t much need to worry about either player.