The Milwaukee Bucks held their final practice before the Wednesday night regular-season opener in Philadelphia in the hopes that Khris Middleton would finally be cleared for a five-on-five practice – the last hurdle to getting him on the court.

Head coach Doc Rivers held out hope the three-time all-star could practice before the team boarded the plane but didn’t sound convicted about it, and that wariness was warranted: Middleton will not play against the 76ers.

“No Khris today so probably no Khris (Wednesday),” Rivers said Tuesday. “It's pretty 100%. Ninety-nine (percent). I would say this week it became more expected (that he wouldn't play). I thought before this week there was a pretty good chance he may make it. Because he's moving great. But we just haven't had enough live activity for him. There's no setbacks. I would say if this was a playoff game he'd probably be playing. Or close to it."

Middleton has participated in individual drills and has advanced through one-on-one work up to three-on-three, but never got clearance to go “live” in a full-team setting. So, the wait continues as the 33-year-old recovers from offseason procedures on both ankles.

He will travel to Philadelphia, however.

Milwaukee returns to Milwaukee for its home opener against Chicago on Friday, and then turns around and heads out on a three-game, five-day trip that includes a back-to-back in Brooklyn and Boston. As of now, the Bucks are planning to have Middleton with them on the upcoming trip.

"It depends on how long he's out, obviously," Rivers said. "But if he's game-to-game or day-to-day, then we'll travel with him."

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Who will start for Khris Middleton?

Newly acquired forward Taurean Prince has been filling in for Middleton in the starting lineup against the Los Angeles Lakers and Bulls in the preseason, and he was asked about what that experience had been like in those settings and in practices.“I mean, I’ve been around for awhile so it’s really about being that glue guy and doing all the little things,  the things that you don’t necessarily see on the stat sheet and being OK with it and not really focusing on the offensive end knowing those opportunities and those nights will come,” he said after practice Monday. “Obviously still being prepared to shoot the (expletive) out of the ball and just be available so I can just be on the floor and contribute to winning.”

Prince, 30, has started 271 of his 502 career games and began 49 games for the Lakers last season. Drafted by Atlanta at No. 12 in 2016, he started 190 times in 201 appearances from 2017-20 for the Hawks. Though he’s known more for his defense than scoring, he is a 37.6% career three-point shooter and has shot 39% or better three times, including 39.6% last year.

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“Obviously with Khris you use him more as the point part of your offense,” Rivers acknowledged. “With Taurean, he’s a guy that the ball is swung to. Taurean can shoot the ball. He knows how to make plays, so he’s very equipped to play the position.

Prince is new to Milwaukee, having signed a one-year veteran minimum deal to join the team. It is his sixth team.

“The thing that sticks out to me about him is he has a great understanding of what his job is,” Bucks point guard Damian Lillard said. “Sometimes you have guys that can do certain things; like you’ll see a wing on a team and you’ll be like, man, this dude is 6-8 he can shoot, he can do this, he can do that. You know they can do it, but not a lot of guys just understand ‘this is what I do, this is what I bring to a team, this is how to do it,’ and they embrace what that job is. I think that’s what sticks out about him to me.

“He knows when to cut. He knows how to space. He knows where to run on the floor. He knows where to be defensively. He knows what to say. I think that’s the power of having vets and experienced guys around our team. He comes in on a new team and you can see he’s just finding his way kind of easy because he understands who he is and what he brings to a team.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Khris Middleton's injury status for Bucks' season opener vs. 76ers