Milwaukee Bucks: Khris Middleton fighting through midseason malaise

As the Milwaukee Bucks have fought this stretch without their superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, the burden has been on their supporting stars to carry the load.

We’ve seen Bucks guard Jrue Holiday step up his game recently, just as he’s made his intentions known to stay in Milwaukee long-term after signing his long-term extension. Khris Middleton, on the other hand, hasn’t had the same such luck.

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We’re not that far removed from Middleton having some of his worst performances on the year or in his career, whether it was scoring 16 points on 16 shots in the Bucks’ nailbiting win over the Sacramento Kings or scoring just 14 points on 6-for-27 shooting in the Bucks’ defeat to the Dallas Mavericks.

While Middleton has since bounced back and will continue to do so, the simple truth is that the two-time All-Star is trying to reclaim his exceptional play that we saw from him at the start of the year.

As the season has gone on, Middleton’s raw counting stats and efficiency have dropped steadily.

Middleton was averaging 21.9 points on .519/.443/.920 shooting, 6.2 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 2.3 turnovers and a steal through the first month of the 2020-21 season (15 appearances). Since the All-Star break, Middleton is averaging 19.5 points on .452/.444/.891 shooting, 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 3.2 turnovers and 1.1 steals across 15 appearances.

That isn’t a matter of Middleton’s usage changing as Holiday has gotten more acclimated to playing in Milwaukee and under the team’s system. Per NBA.com/stats, Middleton posted a 24.2 usage percentage through his first 15 appearances and has a 25.7 usage percentage since the All-Star break.

If anything, the higher usage that Middleton, especially over this current stretch with Antetokounmpo sidelined, hasn’t helped his quest to return to the sparkling efficiency he played at through the first month of the season. And with more attention from opposing defenses coming his way with an Antetokounmpo-sized presence missing within the Bucks’ offense.

Khris Middleton will have to climb out of cold spell for the Milwaukee Bucks

The precipitous drop-off in Middleton’s play has come at an unfortunate time for the Bucks as they look to get back to full health with nearly one month left in their regular season. With 19 games remaining, the upcoming gauntlet to see out the rest of the team’s campaign will be taxing on many levels.

That isn’t exactly the ideal formula or schedule for Middleton to dig himself out of this rough patch over the final few weeks of the season and going into the Bucks’ playoff run.

The first order of business for Middleton to tackle his nagging turnover problem, which has certainly ballooned in recent weeks. Middleton’s turnover miscues have steadily risen as the season has gone on as the year has gone on where he’s averaging 3.2 turnovers per game and is posting a 1.48 assist-to-turnover ratio post-All-Star break.

The second order of business is improving his efficiency in his overall shot profile. While Middleton’s marksmanship from long distance has largely remained intact throughout his growing ups and downs, it’s been inside the arc where the 29-year-old has seen his scoring suffer the most.

While his mid-range proficiency remains on par to what he’s shooting for the season (44.1 percent on 245 attempts), Middleton’s ability to finish at or around the basket has been the a primary source of his struggles. Middleton has converted 20 of his 43 attempts within the restricted area (46.5 percent) since the break, which is down from the 61.5 percent he’s shooting on the season overall.

Over his eight-plus years in Milwaukee, Middleton has proven to go through extended cold spells and this would certainly be classified as one. While he has carried a bigger burden as he and the Bucks wait for Antetokounmpo’s return to the court, Middleton is looking for his own consistency to return.

As the Bucks are looking to peak at the right time down the final stretch, getting Middleton back on track stands as one of the biggest priorities to reverse their playoff woes from the last two seasons. If things are to be different this time around, Middleton’s play will surely have to improve in order to make that so.