Milwaukee Bucks: Analyzing Khris Middleton/Jayson Tatum matchup

Offense

Khris Middleton doesn’t necessarily get the credit he deserves for his wide and varied range of offensive skills, but it’s not exactly a great mystery as to why that’s the case.

Middleton has a tendency to lean into taking tougher shots, particularly from the mid-range. That’s something that, understandably, has become increasingly frowned upon as teams and players around the NBA have become much more analytics-focused, but it’s important to note the reason Middleton takes those shots is because he knows he can make them.

Having struggled with his three-point shooting in the early part of the year, Middleton averaged 39.3 percent from deep following the All-Star break.

With a return to form with his long range shooting, Middleton boasts an offensive arsenal that combines good touch from mid-range and around the basket, a sturdy post game, a playmaker’s eye for finding teammates and the ability to torch opponents from behind the arc.

In other words, Middleton has almost all of the offensive tools you could hope for in a top tier NBA wing, but it will be his decision-making that determines just how impactful he can likely be over the course of the series.

In Tatum’s case, he has managed to thrive as a rookie thanks to fitting into a relatively low usage role and knocking down his opportunities whenever they’ve come his way.

For the most part, the Celtics will likely look to Tatum to produce more of the same in the playoffs. If he could replicate his 43.4 percent three-point shooting from the regular season, that would offer a very strong base for a Celtics team who will be dealing with the absence of their best player.

What could be interesting is if Tatum is asked to pick up some extra responsibilities to compensate for his missing teammates. Over the final couple of weeks of the season, Tatum did have some brief bursts when he was asked to pick up ball-handling duties. If that happens again, it could be something of a wildcard in the outcome of the series.