Photo via NBA.com
11152017_Pistons_Bucks_Dineen_0127
If it already hasn’t been a challenging season for the Milwaukee Bucks, it’s not about to get any easier. A team that had fairly high expectations to be a top four seed in the Eastern Conference went ahead and fired their head coach 45 games into the season after starting with a sub-par 23-22 record. To make matters worse, they’ve had to deal with more injuries to key pieces of their roster such as reigning rookie of the year Malcolm Brogdon, who has been sidelined for the last 25 games. Meanwhile, they have somehow found a way to remain in the playoff picture.
Now with just seven games remaining on the regular season schedule, the Bucks have finally hit the 40-win mark after an impressive road win over a short-handed Golden State Warriors team last night behind 32 points, five assists and four rebounds from All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo. They were locked in from the start and spoiled the return of Kevin Durant, who was tossed just before halftime after he wouldn’t let go of a non-call while driving to the basket. Even though the Warriors were also without Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, it was still an encouraging sign to see them take control and finish the game in the second half after letting the previous game slip away in Tuesday night’s loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles. Khris Middleton added a modest 23 points on 9-17 shooting while Eric Bledsoe knocked down nine of 11 shots to chime in with 20 points as well. When the ‘marquee three’ can feed off each other and score in bunches, this team becomes that much more of a threat. More importantly though, it comes down to late game execution and finding a guy to rely on to go get you big time buckets in clutch situations.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
The X-Factor
Ideally, that go-to guy should be your best player and in Milwaukee’s case it would be Giannis Antetokounmpo. There is no doubt that Giannis wants the ball in his hands in key situations, and rightfully so, but the question is whether or not the 23-year-old can handle that kind of pressure at this point in his career, especially without a consistent jumper. That’s where you turn to a guy like Khris Middleton, who has undeniably been playing his best basketball of the season post All-Star break. While he’s been consistent, averaging 20.2 points per game this season, his shooting numbers have improved dramatically going from 34% from downtown in his first 57 games to 44% in his last 18 games including 47% in the month of March alone.
Middleton has had a challenging season to say the least but has stayed the course and turned it around at the right time. The 26-year-old gets a lot of flack for his up and down play at times, but doesn’t get enough credit for the amount of work he puts into being a respectable player on both ends of the floor. Sure it can be frustrating at times when you think he should be asserting himself more on the offensive end when guys like Giannis and Bledsoe are struggling, but that’s part of the process a player goes through as he figures out his value and what he’s capable of bringing to the table night in and night out.
Khris has all the tools to be an All-Star and arguably should have been at this point in his career, but he’s finally realizing what it takes to give his team a chance to win on a nightly basis. He’s too important to this team to have nights where he seems non-existent. Giannis is the superstar and main attraction that sets the tone for others but even Batman can’t do it alone. While Jabari Parker was drafted in hopes to form that 1-2 punch with the Greek Freak, it’s no secret that injuries have plagued that process and forced Milwaukee to turn to Middleton, who has stepped up and answered the call over the last couple of seasons.
That being said now is not the time to get complacent. The fact of the matter is Milwaukee is still the eighth seed in the playoff standings as they sit a half game back of the seventh seed Miami Heat and only one game behind the sixth seed Washington Wizards. The race is so crazy right now that beyond the Raptors and Celtics claiming the top two spots, it’ll come down to the last day of the regular season to determine seeds three through eight. Milwaukee can’t worry about anyone else or who they will eventually play in the first round. All they have to worry about it is closing out the season strong and gain as much confidence as possible if they want to upset whoever may be in their path.
