Milwaukee Bucks: One big question for each member of the Big 3

One big question for each member of the Milwaukee Bucks big three: Will we get a more consistent playoff performance from Khris Middleton?

This may sound harsher than intended, but while Khris Middleton had a ton of incredibly high moments, there were also some duds mixed in as well and it primarily came in one situation: road games.

The Bucks were a juggernaut at home in the playoffs, losing only once in 11 home playoff games. However, they went 6-6 on the road and Middleton’s playoff performances were a microcosm of those road playoff struggles. Of course, it’s natural for a team and player to perform worse away from home, but the splits for Middleton were staggering.

In 11 home games, Middleton had a +15.2 net rating as opposed to a -2.1 net rating on the road. His true shooting was eight points higher at home (59.1 percent) than away (51.1 percent). His effective field goal percentage was six points higher at home (53.8 percent) than it was for road games (47.8 percent).

He averaged nearly four turnovers per game on the road as opposed to 2.5 at home. His scoring average was lower, his percentages were all lower (except free throws, but he got to the line for 2.5 more attempts per game at home), and he overall had some of his worst performances on the road.

Four of Middleton’s five worst games in the 2021 playoffs by game score were on the road, including Games 1 and 2 against the Brooklyn Nets where he scored 30 total points on a combined 13-for-43 (30.2 percent) and turned the ball over seven times. He posted a game score of four in both games while his highest was 38.7 (at home against the Nets for Game 6).

We won’t have an answer to this question for a while, but the hope is that the weight of winning that first championship and quieting all the doubters who thought he couldn’t be a second option on a championship team will help him find a more consistent rhythm.