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DETROIT — It has been 280 days since the Milwaukee Bucks could say they were whole, 280 days from the day Khris Middleton injured his wrist in their first-round series against Chicago, 280 days from the day their chances at a repeat championship went down the drain.

But Middleton emerging after his start-and-stop season to date was a sight to see — and a return to realistic title expectations for the Bucks.

He came off the bench to play 15 minutes Monday in their 150-130 win over the Detroit Pistons in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. The Pistons are without cornerstone Cade Cunningham and still likely road-weary from their Paris trip last week, but this beatdown was likely coming regardless of the circumstances.

The Bucks played with fervor and a pop that was a sharp contrast from the malaise they’ve worn for a few stretches this season. Giannis Antetokounmpo returned from a five-game absence and didn’t look out of rhythm at all, scoring 20 in the first quarter and finishing with 29 and 12 rebounds in 26 minutes.

The numbers are immaterial, in a way, but the feeling of optimism was palpable in the locker room afterward.

“The band is back together,” Antetokounmpo said. “It’s good to see him out there, run up and down, connect with him, play with him. It’s been a long time. He was doing rehab and going through the battle by himself.”

If the Bucks were a band, Antetokounmpo would, of course, be the lead singer. David Ruffin, Ronald Isley, Michael Jackson — take your pick. Middleton isn’t a background voice; he might not even be someone you’d notice at first glance in that way.

But he makes everything better, like a great bass player. You might not know James Jamerson from The Funk Brothers, but you’d know his guitar riffs and bass lines when you hear them — giving room for the star to be the star.

“I try to pride myself in my job, making everybody’s job easier. Take a lot of pressure off Giannis and Jrue [Holiday], everyone,” Middleton told Yahoo Sports. “Me being out gives those other guys a chance to grow, which will make us better in the long run.”

The Bucks have been admirable in his stead as a whole, especially with Holiday stepping into the second scorer role and arguably being the league’s top sixth man. But there aren't too many players like Middleton — and certainly nobody on this current Bucks roster.

Let’s be clear. Every contender in the East has endured some level of major strife. right before training camp, Brooklyn makes a with every year, and Philadelphia is always flirting with it, or the other.

League sources told Yahoo Sports that the Bucks are very much in play for Phoenix swingman , but you get the feeling their offer is their offer, and they’ll be ready to make a move on a secondary situation if Crowder is moved elsewhere — probably in the mold of a versatile, rugged defender who can make shots.

It’s easy to say now and impossible to prove, but with a healthy Middleton last spring, it would’ve been tough to see anyone beating the Bucks in a seven-game series. Not even the dynastic . We don’t talk about it much because Middleton’s game is so understated and because, rightfully, Antetokounmpo takes up so much oxygen.

DETROIT – Andrew Copp lost the offensive-zone face-off, but Michael Rasmussen swooped in to corral the puck, took it to the net and got a few whacks at it before his teammate buried the rebound.

Copp’s goal 25 seconds into overtime Tuesday gave the Detroit Red Wings a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks at Little Caesars Arena, and Rasmussen’s play, on the winning goal and throughout the night, earned effusive praise from his coach.

“We rarely single out a guy for effort, especially the way we’re built because it literally feels every time we win it’s a complete team effort, but Ras tonight – and he was nicked up, you could tell he wasn’t 100 percent – he forechecked, he finished,” Derek Lalonde said. “Even the overtime goal, he jumps a San Jose face-off win and ends up getting three jabs at it before it ends up on Copp’s stick for the open-netter. What an effort for him.”

Rasmussen scored his eighth goal of the season to give his team a 2-1 lead at 16:29 of the second and shortly after was shaken up during a collision with Jaycob Megna. Rasmussen labored to get to the bench and was clearly in pain while being attended to by trainer Piet Van Zant.

But he didn’t miss any shifts and delivered in overtime, which hasn’t been kind to the Red Wings (3-5).

“I think we just won a battle, were hard in the net front and one went in,” Rasmussen said. “Just found a way. That’s all.”

Said Copp: “Ras said we won a battle -- he won a battle. Took it right to the cage and I was kind of off to the side. I kind of knew it would find its way over there. I pulled it out and put it in an empty net. It wasn’t too tough. He did all the work.”

Rasmussen is a versatile player the Red Wings use at center or wing and move up and down the lineup. He started the season at center but has settled in on the wing the past several weeks. Lalonde knows he’s doing a good job there by the feedback he gets from other players.

“He’s been awesome this year,” Lalonde said. “I want to be careful because I think we’re still raw in his development. I think the wing frees up what he is -- he hunts pucks, wins battles, simplifies his game. You know a winger is good when every center starts to come hinting that they would like to play with him, or if I have a talk with a player about their current game, and they’re like, ‘Well, when I was with Ras …' That’s certainly a good sign when we get those conversations.”

Lalonde called the 6-6 Rasmussen a “will kid,” a big-bodied player who takes pride in getting the puck out of his zone, winning puck battles and establishing a forecheck.

“He’s always work-ethic first and he’s getting rewarded with some good play,” Lalonde said. “He’s not a natural finisher. I’m really excited he was involved in two points tonight.

“Very impressed with what Ras has given us lately.”

Rasmussen started the night on a line with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond but ended it with Copp and David Perron.

“I think he brings an element that is kind of unique to our team in terms of his size and forechecking ability and his skating, too,” Copp said. “He’s been great on the forecheck, he’s been great net front. He’s won a lot of puck battles that have kind of gotten us the puck to keep it in the O-zone. And then he’s been burying his chances.”

The Detroit Pistons have two prime trade candidates in Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks. Both veterans have been among the NBA’s best scorers in their respective roles.

In some eyes, they’re luxuries on a rebuilding Pistons team that may be better served bottoming out for Victor Wembanyama, rather than hanging onto two players who could be flipped for assets while the market is hot.

However, the Pistons’ front office has set a high asking price for both players, sources say. It appears likely both players will still be in Detroit after the Feb. 9 trade deadline passes, unless a team ponies up a big offer. The Pistons want to compete next season. If no one meets their asking price, they can simply bring Bogdanovic and Burks into the offseason and reevaluate from there.

NBA cap, trade and free agency guru and spotrac.com contributor Keith Smith joined "The Pistons Pulse" podcast this week to discuss Bogdanovic and Burks’ trade value and how the Pistons should proceed. Smith is a fan of Bogdanovic, 33, who is averaging 21.5 points on 49.1% overall shooting and 42.3% shooting from 3-point range, and believes he has been undervalued across the league.

The Pistons want significant draft capital for Bogdanovic, and Smith agrees with the high price.

“He’s awesome, and I don’t think he gets enough appreciation for what he is almost his entire career,” Smith said. “He can be really good. He can be your offensive engine, he can be your fourth guy. There are not very many players in the NBA who can fill both of those roles. A lot of those guys, you put them into that third, fourth player role and they disappear and they’re not happy and all that. He’s a good spot up guy, he’s good at playing away from the guy and he’s good with the ball in his hands as the primary offensive creator.”

Bogdanovic has been their best offensive player this season and is a major reason the team has been better offensively per possession compared to last season — though still ranked 28th both years — even without Cade Cunningham. The Croatian forward's name has been involved in trade rumors all season, and the Pistons have received plenty of calls about his availability. Thus far, no team has met the asking price.

The Pistons traded for Bogdanovic in September and only gave up veteran role player Kelly Olynyk and former second-round pick Saben Lee. At the end of October, they extended Bogdanovic to a team-friendly two-year, $39.1 million extension with the second year partially guaranteed at $2 million. The trade and extension was great value, Smith said, and increased Bogdanovic’s worth.

Smith projects the Pistons to have around $43.8 million in cap space available this summer. It gives them two ingredients to make a postseason push next season.

“I don’t know that I would move so far off of my asking price if I was Detroit because I really do think that he’s that good, and I think there’s a place for him on whatever next year’s team is,” Smith said. “I think the goal next year has to be, this is our step forward season. I’m not saying you have to be the (Cleveland Cavaliers) and make the jump to fourth or fifth in the conference. But you need to be pushing towards, we need to be in the 6-10 range, at least in the play-in. We’re going to be really pushing towards that and that’s where we gotta go, only because rebuilds lose patience very quickly, both players, front office, ownership and fans. And when you lose the patience in the rebuild, that’s when you make silly mistakes and start to do really dumb stuff.

“You can keep him around, still have $40 million in cap space and be perfectly fine to go, 'let’s add pieces around this and we should be able to craft together a pretty good roster.' It’s such an interesting spot, to me, just because there’s so many ways you can go with him.”

Burks, 31, is averaging 13.3 points on 45% overall shooting and 43.6% from 3, and has been one of the league's most effective bench guards. Unlike Bogdanovic, Smith thinks the Pistons should move on from Burks, who has a team option worth $10.5 million this offseason.

Smith likened the Pistons keeping Burks to a rebuilding baseball team keeping a good closer. It’s nice to have, but too much of a luxury for a team that needs to dedicate assets elsewhere. A late first-round pick would be great value for the Pistons if a team gets desperate enough, he said.

“What’s really changed for me for Alec Burks is the last few years, is this year he’s shooting lights out,” Smith said. “But the last couple years before that, he was really good too. He’s always been a little bit more of a shaky shooter. His role right now is really good, he’s a combo guard off the bench. You can let him run some stuff. He can play off the ball. He’s a really good cutter.

“That conversation needs to be less about today, because fine he’s playing well, but what does that do? I don’t think that does anything for you if you’re Detroit. I’m not trying to win games now. Not that they're trying to lose, but it doesn’t matter if he helps you to four more wins this year. Is that a good thing? I’m not entirely sure. But when you look at it with him next year, is he worth $10 million on our books or is he better off being on someone else’s and we have $10 million in cap space? Just don’t take on any money long term. Try to increase your flexibility even more, especially for guys who won’t be on the books anyway.”

Catch the "The Pistons Pulse" podcast each Tuesday, with Free Press beat writer Omari Sankofa II and former Division I player and current analyst Bryce Simon. Listen to all of our shows on Freep.com, Apple, Spotify or wherever you load up podcasts.

Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson is one of three finalists for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, but Dan Campbell did not make the cut in Coach of the Year voting.

The NFL announced finalists for its eight major end-of-season awards Wednesday via Associated Press voting.

Campbell generated Coach of the Year consideration after leading the Lions to a 9-8 record this season, but was not one of three finalists for the award after the Lions missed the playoffs. The Lions won eight of their final 10 games after a 1-6 start to finish with their first winning record since 2017.

Each Coach of the Year finalist — Brian Daboll of the New York Giants, Doug Pederson of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers — led their teams to the postseason. The Lions beat the Giants and Jaguars.

In an appearance on ESPN's ManningCast of the Dallas Cowboys-Tampa Bay Buccaneers playoff game in mid-January, Campbell said there were coaches more deserving of the award.

"It would absolutely be an honor, because there are some really good coaches that deserve that," Campbell said. "To me, better ones out there than me by the job they did this year. Daboll would be one of those, he just did a heck of a job. Doug Pederson, I mean I could go down the list there."

BIG DECISION:Detroit Lions OG Jonah Jackson, up for contract extension, 'would love to be a Lion forever'

Hutchinson, the No. 2 pick of last April's NFL draft, led all NFL rookies with 9½ sacks and finished with 52 tackles and three interceptions. He won two Defensive Rookie of the Month awards, in November and December/January, but is considered a longshot to win Defensive Rookie of the Year.

New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner, a Detroit King product and a first-team All-Pro, is the favorite for the award after leading the NFL with 20 passes defensed, and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Tariq Woolen is the other finalist.

Ndamukong Suh was the last Lion to win Rookie of the Year in 2010.

The nationwide panel of 50 sports writers who cover the league ranked their top five picks for MVP and top three for every other award. Winners will be announced at the 12th annual NFL Honors ceremony Feb. 9, three days before Super Bowl 57, in Phoenix.

Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is one of three finalists for assistant coach of the year, along with 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans and Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen.

Johnson interviewed for head coaching jobs with the Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts this offseason, but withdrew his name from consideration for all three jobs.

Under Johnson's guidance, the Lions finished fifth in the NFL in scoring offense (26.6 points per game) and fourth in total yards (380 yards per game) this season, and quarterback Jared Goff had one of the most productive seasons of his career.

Among other awards, quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts and receiver Justin Jefferson are finalists for MVP, and pass rushers Nick Bosa, Micah Parsons and Chris Jones are finalists for Defensive Player of the Year.

The Detroit Tigers need to cut ties with these three players

The Detroit Tigers come into the 2023 season as underdogs, a team that nobody expects to compete for a wildcard. With that said, the Tigers are looking to be competitive regardless of what the win/loss record looks like at the end of the season. The Tigers have three players that have contracts to unload as they look to continue to improve by making moves.

General manager Scott Harris has three options to move contracts before the end of the season. These players most likely will not factor in the teams success this season and should be moved to unload their contracts. These potential moves have nothing to do with cap space because the Tigers enough money to spend and are not in danger. This has to do with term, performance, and money in their deals.

Two of the three players listed below could fetch a premium because they are left-handed starters and teams pay for that kind of asset. The Detroit Tigers could move these players for prospects, but at some point they need to receive major league rostered players in return. Harris cannot rely on all of the prospects they have received working out.

Left-handed pitcher Matthew Boyd could see a short return to the Motor City. Once a good pitcher who was an Opening Day starter and spent his entire career with the Tigers, Boyd has seen better days with his best days behind him. Harris brought back Boyd this off season to a one-year, $10 million deal to compete for a starter's role.

Boyd, 32, is a free agent in the 2024 season and the Tigers should move him and his contract by the 2023 trade deadline so they don't lose him for anything. Boyd spent most of his career with Detroit until last season when he played for the Seattle Mariners. With Seattle, Boyd pitched in 10 games, pitching 13 innings, posting a 2-0 record, accounting for 5.4 walks per nine, and a 0.1 WAR.

Second baseman Jonathan Schoop is 31 years old and previously signed a two-year, $15 million deal. Schoop is an above-average Major League Baseball player with good, solid skills but $7.5 million per season is a bit high. He has not done enough offensively to earn that contract and could be on his way out.

Schoop is due to become a free agent in the 2024 season. Last season with the Detroit Tigers, Schoop played in 131 games, hitting 11 home runs and driving in 38 runs. That kind of offensive production is not good enough for someone making $7.5 million per year. Defensively, he is solid and can play a good infield.

Like Boyd, he could be gone after this season, so Harris might as well see if he can get some interest for Schoop and get something for him before he leaves and Detroit ends up with nothing.

Left-handed pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez was brought to Detroit to be a front-of-the-line pitcher in the starting rotation. He signed a five-year, $71.8 million deal and had high expectations from management. Rodriguez, 29, can opt out of his contract after this season if he is not dealt by the trade deadline.

The big left-hander was average in his first year with the Detroit Tigers. In 17 games, he posted a 5-5 record, 91 innings pitched, 3.36 walks per nine, and 1.19 home runs per nine as well. With his production and contract, there are pitchers that are a dime a dozen that have those stats for a third of that contract.

If he is still struggling at the All-Star break, or even if he's doing well, Harris could move him to a contender looking for rotation depth. Left-handed pitchers are a hot commodity and teams are willing to give up good prospects and MLB-rostered players for them.