Milwaukee Bucks: 5 Keys To Recent Winning Streak
Slow Return of Khris Middleton
When Khris Middleton returned from a hamstring tear of graphic intensity, it was expected that Middleton would need time to get back to the player he was the last two years — a plus-minus darling who was both the team’s best wing defender and outside shooter.
But when Jabari Parker went down with a season-ending and career-threatening ACL tear in Middleton’s first game back, suddenly the margin for error disappeared. The team didn’t have time for Middleton to round back into form — they needed him immediately.
Middleton couldn’t deliver on those heightened expectations, missing a pair of games that fell on the second leg of a back-to-back and hitting more than four field goals just once in his first 20 calendar days back.
Milwaukee Bucks
But the fifth-year wing out of Texas A&M seems to have turned a corner, playing at least 30 minutes in four straight games after not doing so once all season. Head coach Jason Kidd has leaned on Middleton and been rewarded for doing so.
Over those last four games Middleton has averaged 19.2 points per game on 55 percent shooting from the field and 43 percent from deep. Middleton is also chipping in 5.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds per contest, and just less than two steals per game.
He is filling out the box score for Milwaukee.
His stats are not empty calories, either. He has had a positive net rating in each of Milwaukee’s last four games, including a game-high plus-24 against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.
When Middleton has taken the court in the month of March, the Bucks have outscored their opponents every time.
He is not completely back from his injury, but the old Khris Middleton has emerged and contributed to winning basketball for Milwaukee. As he continue to shake off the rust, the Bucks will have the chance to fight back into the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference.
Round Robin Of Bigs
Parker was far and away Milwaukee’s second-best offensive player this season, juicing up bench units and carrying the offense when Antetokounmpo sat on the bench.
In his absence, other bigs have had to step up — and while the results have been inconsistent, players on this roster are jumping in to do their part.
At first it was Michael Beasley, stepping in as the offensive power forward who could take advantage of matchups and score efficiently and frequently. Beasley scored in double figures in seven of the eight games he played in once Parker went down.
Then Beasley was down on the court, a hyperextended knee sidelining him for a few weeks or more. The Bucks signed Terrence Jones to fill his place in the rotation, but Jones has yet to play in the four games since Beasley’s injury.
Instead the big men have taken turns stepping up for Milwaukee. In their big win over the Los Angeles Clippers, Greg Monroe had his way inside against a supposedly stout defense. He dropped in 24 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field, chipping in five rebounds and five assists.
In a win over the Toronto Raptors, scoring came unexpectedly from Spencer Hawes. After playing just three total minutes with the Bucks going into Saturday’s win, Hawes played 17 minutes and poured in 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting.
Against the Philadelphia 76ers, the team’s third win in a row, the rookie Thon Maker leapt into action. Starting for Milwaukee, Maker was plus-17 in his 15 minutes despite only scoring seven points.
His defensive intensity and floor spacing on offense helped the Bucks leap out to a comfortable lead that they never relinquished.
When Beasley returns from injury and Jones is worked into the rotation, this team will have a plethora of options in the frontcourt. The pressure will be on head coach Jason Kidd to determine which players are hot and should see the court on any given night.