Milwaukee Bucks: Best candidates for 2018-19 NBA awards
By Owen Nelson
Defensive Player of the Year: Khris Middleton
There’s no real standout defensive player for the Bucks. For some teams, this award is a clear one. For example, Robert Covington or Joel Embiid are the easy winners for the Philadelphia 76ers, Kawhi Leonard is the clear leader for the Toronto Raptors, Draymond Green is the frontrunner for the Golden State Warriors. The Bucks just don’t have that guy.
Despite this, Khris Middleton has the tools to be a solid defender, perhaps one of the better 3-and-D players in the league. The advanced stats, however, don’t seem to back this up. Last season, Middleton’s real defensive plus-minus was -1.17, per ESPN. This saw Middleton rank behind notoriously poor defenders such as Michael Beasley and rookie Justin Jackson.
Middleton’s 6’9″ wingspan isn’t all that large considering he’s stands 6’8″. Despite this, Middleton is fairly good at stealing the ball, he averaged 1.5 steals per game last season. The odds of Middleton winning this award is as slim as Tony Snell winning the MVP award: non-existent.