By Jimmy Carlton Sportswriter Published Feb 08, 2017 at 3:31 PM

Things have not been going well for the Bucks lately. Milwaukee has lost 10 of its last 12 games, fallen to last place in the Central Division and is currently out of the Eastern Conference’s eight-team playoff field. There have been internal issues, with star forward Jabari Parker benched on Jan. 21 for speaking publicly about a private matter, and roster changes, as backup center Miles Plumlee was traded for two other backup centers last week.

But there is reason for hope, and not just because the Bucks obliterated the Suns in their last game, a 137-112 victory in Phoenix on Saturday. Khris Middleton is planning to make his season debut Wednesday night against the blazing Miami Heat at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, returning from the serious hamstring injury that has kept him sidelined since September.

The 6-foot-8 guard/forward should give Milwaukee, which is 22-28 one week before the All-Star Break, a much-needed emotional lift; as Parker joked Tuesday, "We’re going to look at him to save the season." On the court, Middleton could substantially improve three critical areas in which the Bucks have had problems – three-point shooting, wing defense and lineup cohesion. Milwaukee’s leading scorer in 2015-16 and one of its best all-around players, Middleton averaged 18.2 points, 4.2 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 36.1 minutes per game last season, with a 16.9 PER and a top-20 ranking in real plus-minus impact. The 25-year-old is a career 40 percent three-point shooter and led the Bucks in long-range attempts last season, which will help a squad that has taken the sixth-fewest threes in 2016-17.

Sustained when he slipped on a wet spot on the practice floor in preseason, Middleton’s severely torn left hamstring was surgically repaired in late September. He spent the next few months resting and rehabilitating the injury, and in January started running and shooting.

Assuming he plays Wednesday, he’ll have missed 50 games and returned about a month ahead of the original six-month prediction. Head coach Jason Kidd said Tuesday that Middleton will initially come off the bench and play around 15-20 minutes per game, as he eases back into NBA action.

Middleton isn’t the only player expected to make his Bucks debut on Wednesday. Big men Roy Hibbert and Spencer Hawes, acquired last week from the Charlotte Hornets in a salary-dump exchange for little-used center Miles Plumlee, are likely to appear against the Heat. Though Milwaukee has a glut of centers, with John Henson, Greg Monroe and Thon Maker at the position, the 7-foot-2, 270-pound Hibbert brings a rim-protecting presence to the team’s interior, while the offensively capable Hawes should help stretch the floor at the other end.

The Bucks are 4-12 since Jan. 4, haven’t held an opponent to less than 100 points since Jan. 2 and have been particularly bad guarding behind the arc. Defensively, they’re allowing the third-most three-point attempts (29.7) and makes (10.7) per game, so Middleton’s return should help in that respect. The rangy wing not only has great length, but also excellent footwork and positioning on the perimeter.

An excellent spot-up shooter who can also create his own offense, Middleton is one of the few players on Milwaukee’s roster that doesn’t need the ball to make an impact but is able to make something out of nothing if a play breaks down. Having hit multiple clutch buzzer-beaters over the last couple of years, Middleton is an indispensable late-game option for a team that often doesn’t execute in such situations. He’s a much-improved ball-handler and last year emerged as an underratedly skillful passer, but it's his three-point shooting that will be most welcome and important. And it looks like he hasn't lost that sweet outside touch.

Even though Parker said with a smile that the Bucks were putting the pressure on their teammate, the ever-modest Middleton, who dismissed that notion, doesn’t need to be a white knight. A talented player on both ends of the court, he is a good fit in several of Milwaukee’s often-disjointed lineups and has strong chemistry with All-Star playmaker Giannis Antetokounmpo. His return, plus Hibbert and Hawes, should give Kidd and his coaching staff more – and presumably better – pieces, as the Bucks try to resolve some of their recent struggles and get back into postseason contention.

They need look no further than their opponent Wednesday night for inspiration and evidence of how quickly things can turn around in the NBA. The Heat, which started the season 11-30 and appeared to be destined – perhaps even aiming? – for a high lottery draft pick, have won 11 games in a row and suddenly joined the East playoff discussion.

Two of Miami’s Atlantic Division rivals have experienced similar reversals of fortune that should encourage the downtrodden Bucks. The Washington Wizards were 6-11 at the end of November, but have gone 24-10 since then and are in first place, currently the East’s No. 4 seed; the Atlanta Hawks, who started the season 9-1, endured a 1-10 stretch in November and December but have won 20 of their last 30 games to move into second place and the fifth seed.

Will Middleton’s return spark a similar run of success? We’ll see Wednesday night.

Jimmy Carlton Sportswriter

Born in Milwaukee but a product of Shorewood High School (go ‘Hounds!) and Northwestern University (go ‘Cats!), Jimmy never knew the schoolboy bliss of cheering for a winning football, basketball or baseball team. So he ditched being a fan in order to cover sports professionally - occasionally objectively, always passionately. He's lived in Chicago, New York and Dallas, but now resides again in his beloved Brew City and is an ardent attacker of the notorious Milwaukee Inferiority Complex.

After interning at print publications like Birds and Blooms (official motto: "America's #1 backyard birding and gardening magazine!"), Sports Illustrated (unofficial motto: "Subscribe and save up to 90% off the cover price!") and The Dallas Morning News (a newspaper!), Jimmy worked for web outlets like CBSSports.com, where he was a Packers beat reporter, and FOX Sports Wisconsin, where he managed digital content. He's a proponent and frequent user of em dashes, parenthetical asides, descriptive appositives and, really, anything that makes his sentences longer and more needlessly complex.

Jimmy appreciates references to late '90s Brewers and Bucks players and is the curator of the unofficial John Jaha Hall of Fame. He also enjoys running, biking and soccer, but isn't too annoying about them. He writes about sports - both mainstream and unconventional - and non-sports, including history, music, food, art and even golf (just kidding!), and welcomes reader suggestions for off-the-beaten-path story ideas.