Khris Middleton Boosts The Other Milwaukee Bucks

The hype is focused on Giannis Antetokounmpo at the moment, but Khris Middleton has done the most to boost the Milwaukee Bucks this season.

The Milwaukee Bucks played their first game of the season without Khris Middleton last night. Although Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker did enough to make the game interesting, the Bucks lost in the end.

It should come as no surprise to Bucks fans that the team failed to win without Middleton. He’s been the only one preventing Milwaukee from pure disaster all season.

One of the many sad things about this season in Milwaukee is Middleton flying so far under the radar. Middleton received some All-Star talk (mostly begun by Bucks fans), but by and large most casual fans have no idea about what he’s doing this season.

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Middleton is averaging 18.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Those are good numbers, but they’re not enough to force many people outside of Milwaukee to pay attention to a good player on a bad team.

The one Milwaukee Buck who is getting national attention right now is Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak has a knack for snagging triple-doubles, and he set his career high in the Bucks loss last night.

Those are things that casual fans gobble up. They’re flashy and exciting, and also proof that the potential that was always associated with Giannis is very real.

He’s going to be a very good player. Maybe even a great one. He’s not the best player on his own team though–not yet at least.

That honor belongs to Middleton. The Bucks are at their best with him on the floor. When Middleton is in the game, Milwaukee has outscored opponents by 0.4 points per 100 possessions.

When Khris is not on the floor, Milwaukee gets outscored by some 11.7 points per 100 possessions. The 12.1 point shift downward without Middleton is the largest such change in net rating on the Bucks.

Without Giannis the Bucks are outscored by 5.6 points per 100 possessions, and with him Milwaukee is outscored by 1.4 points per 100 possessions.

Mar 9, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Khris Middleton (22) during the game against the Miami Heat at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Milwaukee won 114-108. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

The team still gets 4.2 points per 100 possessions worse without him, but that’s hardly a third of the impact Middleton has on the team.

This isn’t meant to pick on Antetokounmpo, by the way. He’s the next best player Milwaukee has, according to net rating.

The Bucks get 3.4 points per 100 possessions worse without O.J. Mayo, 2.6 points per 100 possessions worse without Greg Monroe and 0.8 points worse per possession without Jabari Parker.

No other Bucks to play significant minutes have benefitted the team while being on the court, as per net rating. That speaks to the quality (or lack thereof) of Milwaukee’s depth.

Outside of the big three and Greg Monroe, there haven’t been many positive contributors on the Bucks. That’s reflected in looking at the team’s net rating with just one of those three players on the floor, as per NBAwowy.

With Jabari and without Khris and Giannis, the Bucks have an offensive rating of 91.9 and a defensive rating of 111.8, meaning the team is outscored by 19.9 points per 100 possessions.

With Giannis and without the other two, Milwaukee has an offensive rating of 102.3 and a defensive rating of 118.1, meaning the Bucks are outscored by 15.8 points per 100 possessions.

Here’s where Khris Middleton looks very impressive. With him on the floor without Giannis and Jabari, the Bucks have an offensive rating of 104.9 and a defensive rating of 104.7.

Milwaukee has actually outscored opponents when Middleton is the only member of the big three in the game for the Bucks.

That’s impressive because the Bucks have typically died without any of their three best players on the floor. Milwaukee has been outscored by 10.2 points per 100 possessions without any of them on the court, and that’s likely coming mostly against bench units.

When all three of Jabari, Giannis and Khris are on the floor together, the Bucks have outscored teams by 0.9 points per 100 possessions. That’s not a great margin, but it’s the best Milwaukee has been able to do this year.

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Those three have all make great strides in Milwaukee this season, but at the end of the day Middleton is the one holding the Bucks together.

Milwaukee has played 15 different five-man lineups this season that have a positive net rating and at least 20 minutes played.

14 of those lineups contain Khris Middleton, including the Bucks best 13 lineups this season. Every strong lineup for Milwaukee has needed Middleton’s help.

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His defense and spacing are invaluable to the Bucks. It would be terrifying to see what this team would’ve looked like this season had Middleton signed elsewhere last summer.