National Basketball Association

Khris Middleton rewards Bucks' faith with Game 3 breakout performance

Published Jun. 28, 2021 2:03 a.m. ET

By Yaron Weitzman
FOX Sports NBA Writer

Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer isn’t one for big changes.

There are styles he prefers and principles he believes in. He wants his offense to dot the 3-point line with shooters, clearing a path for Giannis Antetokounmpo. He wants his defense to wall off the paint and limit opponent 3s from the corners.

Under Budenholzer, the Bucks have won lots and lots of games by following these plans. But they’ve also flamed out early in their previous two playoff runs. So this season, they decided to change things up just a bit. They’ve switched more on defense. They’ve altered their offensive spacing, stationing a player closer to the basket, giving Antetokounmpo another outlet when facing double-teams.

They’ve also handed a greater share of the offense to Khris Middleton. And in their 113-102 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday — giving the Bucks a 2-1 series lead in the Eastern Conference finals — we saw not only why they’ve done so but also how that decision could be the one that propels the Bucks to their first Finals appearance since 1974.

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Middleton had everything going in Game 3. He drilled step-back jumpers. He splashed catch-and-shoot triples. He dusted defenders and dropped in lefty scoop shots. He finished with 38 points — a career playoff high — 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals. He drilled six of his 14 shots from deep.

He also scored 20 points in the fourth quarter, which is three more than the Hawks had as a team.

"What I saw today was unbelievable," Antetokounmpo said after the game. "For me, it was greatness. Simple as that."

Middleton struggled in the series’ first two games, dropping a measly 15 points in each as the Bucks lost home-court advantage, and early in Game 3, it looked like they could be headed for another crushing defeat. Atlanta led by 15 midway through the first quarter. Trae Young was dropping in both floaters and long-distance bombs. The Bucks were on their heels.

But they fought back, like they have all postseason. Antetokounmpo, who finished with 33 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, mashed the Hawks in the paint. The Bucks were tighter, and so were their switches when guarding Young, even trapping him sometimes, too. They took away his lob passes and kick-out 3s. They kept him off the foul line. He finished with 35 points, but he attempted only six free throws, and he dished out only four assists. Fourteen of his 23 shots came from behind the arc.

Then, midway through the fourth quarter, Middleton caught fire. He reeled off 11 straight points in a two-minute stretch, transforming a seven-point deficit into a three-point lead.

"We were like, ‘Get the hell out of the way. Give him the ball. Take us home, Khris,’" Antetokounmpo said. "And that’s what he did."

It’s a strategy the Bucks employed more this year than ever before. It started during close games in the regular season, when Middleton’s "clutch" time — games within five points with five minutes or less left — usage rate was higher than Antetokounmpo’s for the first time since 2016. In the playoffs, with defenses more locked in and less susceptible to transition points, the Bucks have relied on Middleton to generate offense even more. He has run 8.4 pick-and-rolls per game, according to Synergy tracking data, three more than he ran per contest in the regular season and nearly double what he averaged in last year’s playoffs.

Watch the Bucks play, and these trends make sense. As great and dominant and overwhelming as Antetokounmpo is, his inability to shoot allows opponents to occasionally flummox him in the half court. We’ve seen it throughout NBA history: In order to win a title, you need a perimeter player who can create his own shot when the game slows down and devolves into one-on-one battles.

Middleton is proving that he can do exactly that. He has all the tools you look for in a crunch time scorer. At 6-foot-7 and 222 pounds, he’s big for a wing. He can handle the ball. He’s a knockdown jump-shooter who can rise and fire over an outstretched arm. He’s a strong pick-and-roll player, especially when paired with Antetokounmpo.

It’s been an up-and-down postseason for Middleton. Entering Sunday, he was shooting just 41.7% from the field and 33.7% from deep. These numbers are in line with his marks from last year’s playoff run. Before Game 3, it would have been fair for Bucks fans to be concerned.

The playoffs are funny, though. The sample is so small and the stakes so high that one game can change everything.

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Just look at what happened in this series over the course of one day.

The Bucks have reclaimed home-court advantage. Young sprained his ankle late in Game 3, so who knows what his status is for the rest of the series?

And then there’s Middleton, the Bucks' second All-Star, their bellwether, who has seemingly rediscovered his form. The Bucks spent all season banking that come playoff time, he could be a player they could count on. Now, thanks to Middleton, they’re two wins away from the Finals.

No one expects Middleton to average 35 the rest of the way. All he has to do is continue complimenting Antetokounmpo in the half court and doing the things Antetokounmpo can’t, like he did Sunday night and like he has done all year.

Yaron Weitzman is an NBA writer for FOX Sports and the author of Tanking to the Top: The Philadelphia 76ers and the Most Audacious Process in the History of Professional Sports. Follow him on Twitter @YaronWeitzman.