It's not controversial to think that Khris Middleton's recent outing against the LA Clippers was among the worst performances of his career.
Not only did he go scoreless, but he looked lost defensively possession after possession to the point where it felt like taking him out was Milwaukee's best play. That sluggish performance not only earned Middleton plenty of criticism, but there was also a lot more chatter about needing to trade him, as the former All-Star looked like a flat-out liability.
Despite how bad he looked against Los Angeles, Khris Middleton showed that he does indeed have some fuel left in the tank the very next game.
Khris Middleton goes off as Bucks take down Jazz
From the moment he checked in off the bench, it was clear that Khris Middleton was in an aggressive mood. He immediately started hunting his shot, and unlike the last game, they were actually falling in this game. Whether it was a smooth mid-range or a crafty layup down low, Middleton consistently got to his spots and put points on the board no matter the defender.
It goes without saying that this was a much more welcoming performance than what Middleton put on tape against LA. He went from scoring no points to scoring a season-high. This game showed that Middleton does indeed still have some juice; perhaps he just needed a wake-up call in the form of his performance against the Los Angeles to bring it out of him.
Now, the key is sustaining this momentum. The Bucks won't ask Middleton to score over 20 every single game, but if he can put points up this efficiently while also being at least serviceable on the defensive end, there's no doubt he can help this team win basketball games. As trade rumors swirl, Middleton just reminded everyone just how impactful he can really be.
Middleton's efforts helped the Milwaukee Bucks secure a 125-110 win over Utah, getting back in the win column after that ugly collapse against the Clippers. Middleton wasn't the star of the show, as the Bucks got 35-point efforts from both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, but he certainly held up his end of the bargain with a strong showing.
This very well may have been the best game between this Big 3 ever in the short time they have all been playing together. Let's hope there are plenty of other competitors ahead in that regard, though.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.