30 NBA Players in 30 Days: Khris Middleton
Day 25 of our NBA season countdown brings us to Milwaukee, where the comeback season is alive and well for the Bucks. The player who I think will impact their success for this season is Khris Middleton. The All-Star wing entering his 11th season was most likely the reason the Bucks were not able to get past the Celtics in the 2nd round of the playoffs this past season. Giannis cannot do it alone, and even if he has Jrue Holiday locking up the perimeter and setting him up on offense, the Bucks still need that elite wing scorer that can go toe to toe with any great player in this league. That’s who Khris Middleton was the last few seasons when they won the Finals in 2021, and throughout last season before his wrist injury that took him out of the 1st round series against the Bulls. The Bucks again have high expectations this year, and I’m sure Giannis and company want to get back to where they were, competing for their 2nd ring together. The Celtics open this season as the odds on favorite, per Vegas Insider. But, with the Ime Udoka scandal that happened several weeks ago, and with another injury recovery time for Robert Williams, it’s hard to see the Celtics repeat their success with everything that happened over the offseason. Whatever you think of the Bucks’ championship in 2021, all we know is that this team is out for revenge. Their title defense was denied by an injury to their 2nd best player, so you would best prepare to see them come out very strong when he returns in the next few weeks.
Middleton acknowledged that he will not be fully healthy for opening night next week, but said that he’ll be back near the beginning of the season. He did mention that he was “excited to pick up a basketball in a couple of weeks” last month. I am not sure that’s a totally great sign that he has not been able to do stuff with the ball much, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt he’ll be good to go when he comes back. Every scorer needs to get into a rhythm starting out the season, so this delay just means that it will take more games for the Bucks to really be clicking. Last year, Middleton posted 20.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 5.4 APG, and shot 44.3 FG%, with 37.3 FG3%. The stats aren’t an elite number, especially with there being a lot more 20 point-per-game scorers in today’s NBA. But, his scoring production in the playoffs during their championship run made a huge difference for the Bucks. Middleton will never be seen as a top player in the NBA. He plays for a small market team, he looks like a pretty normal guy, and he does not have an elite physical attribute other than being a taller shooting guard. The consistency and the mix of him, Giannis, and Holiday is the trio that the Bucks will live and die by. Without Middleton’s perimeter scoring and pick and roll combo with Giannis, the team is worse offensively. It was clear to see that Middleton was the player that would have put them past the Celtics with the way they struggled to score and get a bucket in crunch time. In their nail-biting win in Game 5 of that series, the Bucks relied on tough defense and rebounding to close the game out in Boston. If Middleton is at the level he was during their championship run, then it would not surprise me if the Bucks find themselves back in the Finals.
The other interesting part about Middleton’s season this year is that he has a player option for 2023–2024. It is way too far in advance to even suggest that the Bucks’ front office, and Giannis more importantly, would change their mind about the future of Middleton in Milwaukee. But, we have seen weirder things happen in the NBA, and the landscape of teams can change from year to year. I would take the safe route that Middleton will get another extension, but it never hurts to question what might happen if somehow the star trio loses its shine sooner rather than later.
