Milwaukee Bucks: 3 goals for Khris Middleton in 2020-21 season

Goal no. 3 – Improve consistency in playoff performances

There’s no question that Khris Middleton has fashioned himself into an accomplished player over his eight regular season. Certainly the two-All-Star selections point to his status around the league and it should be noted that he fell just short of earning an All-NBA selection last year.

The well-rounded nature of Middleton’s game between his polished scoring, strong rebounding for a player of his position and steady playmaking have all been standout traits in his development as an All-Star-caliber player.

For Middleton to truly assert himself as elite player in this league, though, he needs to hone his play and consistency over the course of the Bucks’ playoff run for this upcoming season.

There’s no question Middleton has had his moments over the Bucks’ recent runs over the last several years. His performance in the Bucks’ first round series against the Boston Celtics in the 2018 NBA Playoffs still stands something as a benchmark over his career as he averaged 24.7 points on a .598/.435/.737 slash line, 5.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists.

On the other hand, Middleton faltered over the Bucks’ 2019 Eastern Conference series with the Toronto Raptors and he stood as lone bright spot, even with mixed results, for the Bucks during their ill-fated run down in the bubble during last season’s playoff run.

It may be too high of a bar for Middleton to repeat what we saw against the Celtics two-and-a-half years ago, but he has shown flashes of playoff brilliance. And it will certainly be interesting to see how the presence of Holiday might make Middleton’s life easier, especially when compared to Eric Bledsoe’s playoff failures.

It goes without saying that Middleton will be highly critical to what the Bucks achieve over the 2020-21 season and how far along they go in their quest for a championship. Hopefully, Middleton’s continued success can lead to a full breakthrough in the playoffs and lead to him and his Bucks teammates hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy at season’s end.