Is Khris Middleton A Star?
If you want to know whether Khris Middleton is a star, then you should look to the last 15 games he has played with the Milwaukee Bucks. He is averaging 17.4 points per game during that stretch, culminating in a 30-point game against the Washington Wizards.
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He is probably the Bucks’ most consistent and dangerous outside threat, who can get a lot of easy shots outside because of the size and length of the rest of his teammates.
But he isn’t just a good offensive player. In order to be better than just a rotation player, you need to bring something else to the table. He is averaging 6.37 rebounds per game in the last 15 games, a pretty high number when you consider that he is really just a shooting guard. This puts him high on the list of guards that collect rebounds.
What about his defense? Surely a player that is poised to be a star has to be a good defender. In the last 15 games, he is averaging 1.7 steals per game, and the Bucks are consistently one of the better defensive teams in the league.
Milwaukee is ranked second in defensive efficiency, according to John Hollinger’s team statistics on ESPN, with a score of 98.7, behind only the Golden State Warriors. While players like John Henson and Giannis Antetokounmpo are good defenders as well, Middleton has played well guarding perimeter defenders. Take a look at this defensive compilation of Middleton’s defense.
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You can see that he chases his opponents off of screens, that he doesn’t get in the air that much, leaving himself vulnerable to a foul. He shifts his legs rather quickly, allowing him to get to the spot he needs to get to before his opponent does. Doing these little things don’t quite show up on the stat sheet, but they make all the difference when it comes to team defense.
Middleton isn’t exactly a “creator,” in the sense that I would categorize LeBron James or Dwyane Wade, or even James Harden. That is, he isn’t a guy who is going to go out on the court and get six or seven assists to set up teammates. But that is OK, not everyone is. Here is an example: Paul George. Last season, which was George’s best season, he averaged 3.5 assists per game.
George isn’t the type of guy that has the vision that the other players do, and neither is Middleton. But here is what they can do to put their teams in a position to score, look to be aggressive on the offensive end and if they are double-teamed for any reason, kick the ball out.
The two players are most effective when they can look to score. Some players are just scorers. Especially when a player like Middleton shoots 56 percent from three-point range in the last three games. Middleton has a shot right now, especially since Jabari Parker is injured, to expand his role and become a star on this team. As the playoffs approach, this will be his time to shine.
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