Milwaukee Bucks: Reduced turnovers key for Khris Middleton’s success
By Adam McGee
As Khris Middleton has enjoyed a career year with the Milwaukee Bucks, his reduced turnovers have spurred on his playmaking success.
In a season in which he made his second All-Star appearance, and also may have fallen just short of joining the 50-40-90 club by the tiniest of margins, Khris Middleton‘s incredible success in 2019-20 could be attributed to a variety of different factors.
One element that certainly can’t be overlooked, though, is the way in which the 28-year-old has cut down on his turnover tally.
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Middleton has looked more comfortable than ever with the ball in his hands, whether that’s in terms of bringing the ball up the floor, setting up the offense, or picking out passes for teammates.
All of the work that Middleton has put into improving those elements of his game looks to have paid off, and perhaps in no area more than his now increasingly limited miscues.
Outside of Middleton’s rookie season, when his role and usage were significantly more limited as a member of the Detroit Pistons, the Charleston native had never previously posted the kind of playmaking efficiency that he’s managed to produce this year.
Averaging just 30.1 minutes per game, Middleton’s 4.1 assists provide a very solid total for a secondary or occasionally tertiary playmaker. Weighted against his turnovers, that leaves Khris with a very healthy 1.99 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Middleton’s 8.9 turnover ratio is unsurprisingly also a standout in terms of his performance this year, again registering as comfortably the best mark he’s posted since his rookie season.
All of that only becomes all the more impressive when you consider Middleton has never been asked to do quite as much with the ball as he has in 2019-20.
Through the first eight years of his NBA career, Middleton’s usage percentage has steadily increased with every season, reaching what is a notable 25.6 percent for the current campaign. That leaves Middleton cracking the NBA’s top-40 in usage among players who have played 20 games or more, which is no less noteworthy given Middleton frequently shares the court with the league’s usage leader, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
It’s likely no coincidence that the Bucks have looked more formidable than ever in light of Middleton’s improved and more assertive playmaking, though.
As Middleton’s game has matured and he has shifted into what will undoubtedly be his prime years, he’s undoubtedly become a more complete and versatile player on the whole.
Based on his early years with the Bucks when he was little more than a 3-and-D specialist who operated mostly off the ball, or going back even earlier to when he entered the NBA as an unheralded second round pick, Middleton’s development and progress has been exceptional.
Next. 3 Bucks who exceeded expectations this 2019-20 season. dark
The hope for him and the Bucks will be that there still might be a little more room for growth yet too.