Milwaukee Bucks Playoff Preview: 3 Key Position Matchups

Khris Middleton vs. Jimmy Butler

Chicago’s Jimmy Butler knows a little something about playing in the Bradley Center.

The former Marquette standout has transformed his game this year, going from a terrific “3-and-D” player to an all-around scorer who can guard the other team’s best player. He went from averaging 13.1 points per game just a year ago to 20.0 points per game in this year’s campaign. He’s the perfect player for coach Tom Thibodeau as he’s capable of playing strong defense and heavy minutes (38.7 minutes per game).

Butler loves to shoot from midrange and get to the rim. He doesn’t shoot much from the corners but is league average on a large sample when shooting threes at the top of arc. The Bucks will want to coax him into settling for as many midrange shots as possible as he isn’t very efficient from there.

Khris Middleton is the Bucks’ version of Butler and has shown some of the same improvements on offense. Middleton has become a better overall scorer and has bumped his scoring average up to 13.4 points per game. Middleton has a slightly smaller role in the offense than Butler though as he averages 11 field goal attempts per game compared to Butler’s 14.

What makes Khris Middleton such a valuable player is his efficiency from everywhere on the court. He’s does two things really well in corner threes and turnaround jumpers out of the post, but he’s at least league average from everywhere else on the court as well. Virtually any location on the floor is a quality shot for Middleton.

Despite Butler’s reputation as a fantastic defender, Middleton actually has also been the better defender of the two this year. Opponents shoot 48 percent on shots when guarded by Butler, but only 39.5 percent when guarded by Middleton, per NBA.com.

The stats suggest that Middleton has the advantage in this key matchup, but Butler has the energy, relentlessness, and playoff experience to make stats look useless. This will be a fun matchup to keep an eye on.