![]() Middleton’s case for All-NBAĪssuming Middleton will be listed as a forward on All-NBA ballots, the race will be tight. In short: don’t let the Antetokounmpo factor distract you from how good Middleton is on his own merit. This included his 51-point masterpiece against the Washington Wizards. In the six games Antetokounmpo missed, Middleton led the Bucks to a 5-1 record while averaging 27.3 points (48/48/96 shooting split), 7.3 rebounds, and 6.2 assists. The Bucks have outscored opponents by 10 points per 100 possessions in the 597 minutes Middleton has gone solo. ![]() He’s more than held his own in that regard, averaging 31-8-6 per 36 minutes with a 50-40-95 shooting split. When Antetokounmpo goes to the bench, Middleton is empowered to anchor second units. It’s why he ranks in the 75th percentile or better in pick-and-roll, isolation, and post-up possessions (passes included). His scoring prowess enhances his underrated passing acumen. However, Middleton’s improvement on the margins has turned him into a great creator instead of a good one. The Middleton-Antetokounmpo pairing has a plus-17.9 net rating in 928 minutes this season, the second best two-man combo in the league behind … the Eric Bledsoe-Antetokounmpo pairing (plus-19.8). Opponents can’t afford to key in on Middleton because there’s a 7-footer ready to create a demolition derby at any given moment. Having a teammate like Antetokounmpo is obviously helpful. He’s shooting an obscene 59.2 percent on post-ups, the third highest mark in the NBA among players with at least 50 post-up possessions. Middleton has been mashing those mismatches all season long. Late closeouts - heck, even on-time closeouts - don’t affect him on catch-and-shoot opportunities, which helps explain why he’s been deadly on contested shots (1.48 PPP, 98th percentile). ![]() His high, compact release allows him to fling deep shots over opponents without much resistance. According to Synergy Sports, he’s generating 1.33 points per catch-and-shoot possession (92nd percentile), and 1.07 points per possession on jumpers off the dribble (89th percentile). If his efficiency holds, he’d be just the fifth player in NBA history to post a 50/40/90 season while averaging over 20 points. He’s averaging a career-high 21.1 points while converting nearly 55 percent of his two-point shots, the aforementioned three-point clip, and 90.7 percent of his free throws. Middleton is one of 15 players (14 if you exclude three games of Dion Waiters) shooting north of 40 percent from three on over five attempts.īut Middleton isn’t just hitting triples at an elite rate (43.8 percent on 5.5 attempts), he’s draining shots - all types of shots - from everywhere at an elite rate. It sounds a bit far-fetched when you think of how many elite shooters are in the league right now. Middleton is a three-level threatĭuring the Bucks’ showdown with the red-hot Toronto Raptors Tuesday night, TNT analyst Stan Van Gundy called Middleton “the best all-around shooter in the NBA” this season. He’s in the midst of a career year, and has taken the leap from all-star to All-NBA candidate. While Giannis Antetokounmpo is the engine - and arguably the best player in the world - it’s important to note Middleton’s hand in the Bucks’ success. The Bucks are plowing through teams (50-8 record), having already clinched a playoff spot before March. As the second best player on the best team in the NBA, Middleton is scoring with historic levels of efficiency for a team on-pace to win 70 games. He was named an all-star for the second time in his career, but he’s been so much more than that, too. This year, Middleton has found his personal nirvana. While last year wasn’t exactly a breakout season for Middleton - he posted better per-game numbers the year before - it was a necessary step in the Bucks’ search for peak optimization. Middleton has seen the fruits of that change. But right now, what I’m doing - and what the team is doing - is working so I really don’t have to do too much different.” I know I can fall back on it when I really need to. “It’s just something I have to adjust to, find a rhythm with it. “It’s been a challenge for me this year,” Middleton said. That sounds like an easy change on the surface, but it was tough for Middleton, whose “long mid-range” frequency and three-point rate were nearly identical throughout the pre-Budenholzer era. When head coach Mike Budenholzer was hired before the start of the 2018-19 season, he challenged Middleton to overhaul his shot profile, eliminating the steady diet of the mid-post touches he built his career on in favor of more three-pointers and attacking off movement. He’s spent the last two seasons trying to answer it. ![]() It’s a simple question posed to Milwaukee Bucks wing Khris Middleton during the 2019 NBA All-Star Game media availability. “How have you been able to balance spacing the floor and operating in the mid range area?”
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