The Milwaukee Bucks have had a fair amount of struggles this season. Coming off a surprising 2014-15 season which saw them improve from the worst record in the league to a playoff team, the Bucks have been disappointing this year. The team has not found consistency and despite occasional great wins (including one against the Warriors), Milwaukee is still sitting at an underwhelming 26-37 record.
Even with the disappointments, however, the Bucks are in a good spot. Armed with one of the most talented young cores in the league, there is still reason to have hope in Milwaukee’s future. In the eyes of most fans that hope comes in the form of two high-potential players: do-it-all forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and former number two overall pick Jabari Parker.
Both of these players have immensely high ceilings and they are the future of the franchise. Giannis is dropping triple-doubles left and right and his newfound skills coupled with the already present length and athleticism leave him looking like a potential two-way star. Parker is starting to become more comfortable and more consistent in his play, showcasing the immense scoring talent that led him to be a highly touted prospect before tearing his ACL in his rookie season.
Yet the key to the Bucks’ seemingly bright future is neither of those two players. Instead, it’s a third young player who often goes unnoticed behind the bevy of other young talent on the roster. That player is Khris Middleton, the prototypical ‘3 and D’ wing player who signed a big deal with the team this past offseason. Middleton does not show the superstar flashes that Giannis and Jabari do, but he is the piece that connects the Bucks’ young stars together.
Middleton may not have the superstar potential that the other two young Bucks do, but that’s not to say he is not a phenomenal player in his own right. While much of the blame on the Bucks’ early season struggles were placed on Middleton’s shoulders, he has quietly had a great season. The 24 year old guard is averaging 18.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 43.4% from the field, 41.6% from three, and 87.5% from the free throw line.
That shooting in particular is part of what makes Middleton such an integral part of this core. Giannis has not yet developed a consistent outside shot and despite Jabari’s penchant for scoring in college, his outside shot has not yet translated to the pros. Middleton’s shooting is not only a necessity for team success, but it is huge in allowing the other young Bucks players the spacing necessary to have consistent impacts on the offensive end.
More importantly, however, Middleton provides versatility in that he is not a one-way street. The shooting guard has proven over his short career that he is an elite perimeter defender. That is presented somewhat in his stats. On average, Middleton’s assignments average 10.2 field goal attempts per game, holding those attempts to a 44.6% conversion rate. That FG% is on average 1.6 percentage points fewer than what the players shooting them shoot when not guarded by Middleton. The number becomes even more impressive when subjected to the filter of three point shots. On those attempts, Middleton is holding opponents to 35.4%, 3.7 percentage points fewer than their usual averages.
In the time Middleton spends on the court, the Bucks are 4.5 points per 100 possessions better on the defensive end. While the 104 defensive rating with Khris on the floor is not an incredible number to measure his impact, it is fair to pin some of the blame on the Bucks team as a whole. Most notably, Middleton has played a large number of his minutes with Greg Monroe as the center leading to little to no rim protection.
But Middleton’s impact has not been limited to the defensive end. The Bucks team has benefited on both sides of the floor with their starting shooting guard in the game. That is best exhibited by the huge change in net rating between minutes with Middleton off the floor and those with him playing. When Middleton sits, the Bucks are outscored by 12.5 points per 100 possessions, a number that would rank dead last in the NBA by a comfortable two points.
When Middleton is on the court, however, the Bucks’ net rating is an almost neutral -0.3, the best mark on the Bucks’ roster. That number would rank the Bucks 16th in the league, tied with the Memphis Grizzlies. In short, Middleton’s presence on the court (with other factors playing a role, of course) raises the Bucks from being the worst team in the league to a playoff caliber one. That bears good news for his future as an integral part of the team.
Clearly, the Bucks have multiple young players with which to build a future. But while the focus immediately shifts to the likes of Antetokounmpo or Parker, Khris Middleton is left as the unheralded part of the Bucks’ future. His shooting (and the improvements in playmaking that have made him a threat elsewhere on the offensive end) coupled with elite defense on the perimeter have made him the most consistent contributor on this Bucks team. Middleton’s play and continued improvements in play have made him the key to Milwaukee’s campaign to Own the Future.
