Khris Middleton: The Middleton Man For The Milwaukee Bucks
By Steve Krebs
The Milwaukee Bucks are at the halfway mark of the season, and as many were predicting, Khris Middleton has been one of the major contributors to their 21-20 record. Wait, what?
As shocking as it is to see an above .500 winning percentage at 41 games in, it is even more surprising that Middleton has been such a pertinent piece to what has ultimately been a very successful season.
Milwaukee is desperately in need of someone to pick up the production missing from Jabari Parker‘s absence for the remainder of the season due to a torn ACL. The Texas A&M product (Middleton) has done exactly that.
This is another scenario of how coach Jason Kidd seems to have the ear of everyone on the team, making even the unlikeliest of sources, someone the opposition now has to account for.
How Has Khris Middleton Impacted The Bucks?
Over the last 16 games (the time in which Parker has missed), the Milwaukee Bucks are 8-8. In 10 of the contests Khris has scored double digit points or better — while knocking down 24 three-pointers (in only three of 16 games did he fail to hit a shot from beyond the arc).
On the defensive end he has become an absolute menace, swiping almost 2.5 steals per game this month – the real kind of average, where it’s not a combined effort of four games with zero, and four games of five. In seven of eight outings, Khris managed to record at least two steals, including this gem against the Phoenix Suns: .
With the minutes increasing each month, it is no stretch to assume the continued production will as well — since November, Middleton has raised his points per game from 7.9 to 11.8. His stats have also increased throughout the season across the board.
At the current pace, it’s very likely he will surpass prior season totals in scoring, points per game average, steals, field goal percentage, rebounds, and three-pointers made.
If the Milwaukee Bucks are going to continue their success into April, and hopefully beyond, they will no doubt need the strong play of Khris Middleton to be sustained for the rest of the season. Granted, he is not a recognized name in the organization, but he does not have to be if the team is winning based on the production achieved.
As for the future, he has everything you would want in a young NBA talent; increased stats on a yearly basis, fundamentally sound (more times than not), youth, a propensity to be effective on the defensive side of the ball, and above all, the price tag is just fine.
It’s unknown if Khris Middleton is in the future plans, but honestly, the Bucks could do a lot worse (see O.J. Mayo post).