Milwaukee Bucks: Can Khris Middleton torch the Celtics again?

Khris Middleton was unstoppable against the Boston Celtics last postseason, but can the Milwaukee Bucks forward possibly repeat that performance?

Khris Middleton’s playoff series against the Boston Celtics last postseason has become an almost mythical topic for Milwaukee Bucks fans at this point, but with the Celtics coming up again as the Bucks’ postseason opponent his performance merits some further conversation.

Middleton averaged 24.7 points per game in the seven game series against Boston — more than 10 points more per game than he averaged the prior postseason, although a few factors limited Middleton against Toronto — while also adding 5.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per contest.

More from Bucks News

The raw numbers are impressive, but it was Middleton’s shooting accuracy that really made those seven games memorable for him. Middleton shot 59.8 percent from the field and a ridiculous 61 percent from three-point range against the Celtics in the 2018 NBA Playoffs.

Middleton shouldn’t be held to those wild standards, because pretty much no player can be expected to shoot 60 percent from deep over seven games, but it’s still worth wondering if Middleton can be a lights-out scorer against Boston once more. After all, the Celtics will try their hardest to limit Giannis Antetokounmpo, meaning the other Bucks will have to step up. Middleton, along with Eric Bledsoe, will be huge in determining if Milwaukee can get to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Based on Middleton’s performance against the Celtics in the regular season, it seems like there could be some cause for concern. The Bucks won the season series regardless and only Giannis scored more per game against Boston, but Middleton got his 17.3 points per game on a 36.5 field goal percentage. He did stay hot from three-point range at least, shooting 40 percent even against the Celtics over three games played.

Nailing 40 percent of his three-pointers is nice, but the Bucks will likely need more than a sub-40 percent field goal shooting performance from Khris Middleton in this series. Should his regular season performances against Boston be worrying, then?

The answer is: probably not. Middleton is a 16-game player, and he proved it by also not being as sharp against the Celtics in the 2017-18 regular season. Middleton shot 45.6 percent from the field but just 25.0 percent from 3-point territory against Boston last regular season, and also scored exactly 17.3 points per game.

If there’s one thing we can say for sure, it’s that Khris Middleton can definitely torch the Boston Celtics in the postseason after scoring 17.3 points per game against them in the regular season. After all, we’ve seen it happen.

Middleton continued his red-hot postseason scoring in the first round against the Detroit Pistons. He averaged 19.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 45.8 percent from three-point range. Those per game numbers may seem modest, but coach Mike Budenholzer only needed to play Middleton 29.6 minutes per game in the sweep contributed to that. Middleton actually scored more per 36 minutes so far in this postseason (23.1 points per 36) than he did against Boston last year (22.6 points per 36).

Milwaukee’s new offense helps, too. The Bucks often handed Middleton the ball, maybe ran a simple action or two, and had him go get buckets last postseason. Middleton can certainly pull up from anywhere and will work on defenders one-on-one still, but Milwaukee’s new, competent offense gets him (and everybody else) much easier looks these days.

It’s not a sure thing, and it would be pretty unbelievable if he managed to make 60 percent of his three-pointers while attempting nearly six per game once again, but there doesn’t seem to be anything in Middleton’s way against Boston.