Milwaukee Bucks: Key Player Matchups in Potential First Round Playoff Meetings

Otto Porter vs. Khris Middleton

The matchup between these two teams is interesting, as they haven’t played since Jan. 8, more than 40 games ago. This means that the Wizards have yet to face Khris Middleton this season, who was out with a torn hamstring until Feb. 8.

Things haven’t been all peachy for Khris since coming back, which has been painfully clear during his shooting slump in this past week. But since Khris has effectively replaced Jabari Parker’s role on the Bucks, Otto Porter will be facing off against a very different defender.

Jabari was often criticized for his lack of defensive awareness, and rightfully so. No matter how you slice it, Khris is a much better defender than Jabari, and should help hold Porter’s scoring down if these teams meet.

https://twitter.com/JoeOsterndorf/status/812785512998178816

Jabari is an outstanding player, but severely lacking in defensive awareness. For this reason, Otto Porter was able to score more points per game against Milwaukee than any other team in the East. Against Milwaukee, he averaged 18.3 points per game, only bested by his average of 19 against Memphis. He also shot a smoldering 56 percent from three against the Bucks, in part thanks to Jabari’s late rotations.

Otto Porter is having a fine breakout season, and is an effective player on both sides of the ball. However, Khris should have the advantage here, especially if Porter isn’t over the back spasms that he’s currently dealing with. If that ends up being the case, the Wizards could be left scrambling, and the Bucks could run away with some easy wins.