Milwaukee Bucks: Ranking Khris Middleton among best second options: No. 3 – Paul George
Some will argue that Middleton deserves to be slotted third on this list after the playoff run he just had, but Paul George will hold that spot for now.
George has deservingly earned a reputation as one of the best two-way wings in the association for his efforts on both sides of the basketball. He has exceeded 20 points per game in six straight seasons, having proven to be a lethal scorer. Defensively, George has racked up four All-Defensive selections in his career and is a player that opponents hate matching up against. He even finished third in the 2018-19 MVP voting after a phenomenal season.
Like Middleton, George’s image has been clouded due to his shortcomings in the postseason, but he quieted those critics after a solid run in 2021. Despite the LA Clippers losing their main man in Kawhi Leonard during the second round, George put up a hard-fought battle as they would lose in six games to the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Finals. In 19 playoff games, George put up 26.9 points 9.6 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game, which are undoubtedly reputable numbers from the swingman.
With Leonard set to be sidelined for a good chunk of next season as he recovers from a torn ACL, George will assume the role as LA’s go-to guy. Perhaps that means Middleton is the third-best second option at the moment, but when Leonard is in the fold, George is fairly ranked third.