Khris Middleton has been the Milwaukee Bucks' unsung hero the last few seasons.
While Giannis Antetounmpo has drawn most of the attention during his ascent to the NBA's top tier of young stars, Middleton has gone about his business and quietly established himself as one of the more reliable sharpshooters in the league.
With new head coach Mike Budenholzer encouraging the Bucks to shoot more 3-pointers, Middleton is no longer toiling in Antetokounmpo's shadow; he's emerged as a top playmaker on a Bucks team off to its best start since 1971as it prepares to host the Orlando Magic on Saturday night.
Middleton improved to 22 of 38 from beyond the arc this season after knocking down 4-of-6 3-pointers Friday night in a 30-point rout of the Timberwolves in Minnesota.
"He's always been a tough shot-maker, so when coach says I want you to shoot more 3s, it just means there's going to be more points," forward John Henson told reporters earlier this week. "He's locked in. His confidence is at an all-time high."
Middleton has made the third-most 3-pointers of anyone in the league and he's tenth with a 57.9 percent shooting percentage from beyond the arc.
"He has a lot more to give," Antetokounmpo said. "As you can see, he's showing it. He can take a step, two steps forward this year. We want him to do that because if he does that, the team's going to be way better. He's been doing a great job through a couple games."
He's not the only one enjoying more freedom under Budenholzer's system. The Bucks made 19-of-46 3-point attempts Friday against Minnesota. They lead the league in 3-point makes (16.0) and attempts (41.8) per game and are connecting at a 38.3 percent clip, good for ninth in the league.
Expect that trend to continue against Saturday night when the Bucks welcome Orlando, which is allowing an average of 12.6 made 3-pointers on 32.4 attempts, both marks ranking among the league's bottom five, while allowing opponents to connect on those shots at a 36.8 percent clip.
Defense in general has been a problem for Orlando so far but head coach Steve Clifford is confident his team will be able to make the necessary adjustments.
"We've played five games," Clifford said. "It's going to take a while. We have to learn from it. That's the biggest thing. You have to know what it is and you have to learn from it. We'll have to watch the film. They have to see it. And then we have to be willing to make the changes."
The Magic will be well-rested coming into the game. Orlando had Friday off after a Thursday loss to Portland, but the Bucks' regulars got a break Friday thanks to the blowout. Nobody on the roster played more than 26 minutes.
At 5-0, the Bucks are off to their best start since the 1971 squad, led by Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, opened the year with seven straight victories before steamrolling their way to the franchise's only NBA championship.
Orlando Magic Starters:
Point Guard:
Spoiler:
Shooting Guard:
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Evan Fournier
Small Forward:
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Jonathan Isaac
Power Forward:
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Aaron Gordon
Center:
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Nikola Vucevic
Bench:
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G: Jerian Grant G: Terrence Ross F: Jonathon Simmons C: Mohamed Bamba G: Isaiah Briscoe F: Wesley Iwundu F: Jarell Martin C: Khem Birch
Milwaukee Starters/Bench:
Spoiler:
F: G. Antetokounmpo F: K. Middleton C: B. Lopez G: E. Bledsoe G: M. Brogdon
BENCH F: E. Ilyasova C: T. Maker G: M. Dellavedova G: P. Connaughton G: S. Brown G: D. DiVincenzo G: T. Snell
Those tankathon standings just make me realise that any team has to go through the Gilbert & Son draft lottery machine in order to get the first pick this year.
In respect of the game, I can see a big night for Ilyasova as another former player returns to put a big number on the Magic.
Obviously hoping for a win tonight but honestly not feeling good about this one. Felt better about the game against the Blazers, hoping we can do something to counter Giannis tonight, he's going to get his, have to limit the others.
Great thread that you put together Prime. The Bucks have looked really good so far especially now that they have a legit floor spacer at the 5 with Brook Lopez. I just hope we play with consistently good energy for 48 minutes. We aren't talented enough to come back from slow starts and need to stop putting ourselves in holes like that.
Milwaukee has fully embraced Budenholzer ball and are just destroying teams with it.
They went from 25th in the NBA last year at 24.7 3PT attempts per game to No. 1 in the NBA at 41.8 3PT attempts per game.
The Magic haven't defended the 3PT line all that well.
Could be an ugly one. But that's why you play the games. Bucks could be looking past this one, plus its the 2nd night of a BTB for them (although they won in a blowout last night and didn't have to extend anyone's minutes).
Clifford has an 11-9 record agsinst Budenholzer. to note that he went 7-1 against him during the last two years where the Hawks blew the team up. Against Budenholzer with real NBA players he is 4-8.
Bucks fan, wishing health and success for both teams. C:
Have only watched the Heat - whole - and Celtics - condensed only - games (so I may be a little misguided) but this feels like a trap game for us. The Magic are looking right now like a scrappy high effort team, and I think that Isaac is going to make Giannis earn his points tonight (he still has not adjusted to Buds' scheme, and is not playing yet to his standards).
We're going to get boat raced out of the building but we really need this unexpected win. Over the next month we need to be over .500 before the Thanksgiving stretch or we're going to lose the season in December like always.
Why do we need wins again? Last year people were upset that we were winning late in the season. I could contest that our hot start knocked us out of the top 4 just the same.
I am rooting for the team but honestly, the best thing we can do is lose a lot of games now instead of scrambling to tank at the end.
PennytoShaq wrote:Why do we need wins again? Last year people were upset that we were winning late in the season. I could contest that our hot start knocked us out of the top 4 just the same.
I am rooting for the team but honestly, the best thing we can do is lose a lot of games now instead of scrambling to tank at the end.
Human nature my man.
No one actively WANTS to watch their team lose games even if it might be beneficial for the organization in the long run.
Can't wait to see more of the bumbling fools called the Orlando Magic PGs, watching Giannis and Milwaukee guards drive to the lane uncontested because of our marvelous defense by our starting center, watching the two man Euro basketball with Fournier and Vuc, AG with his wild drives and fade away 17 foot shots.
Only hope for sanity is Isaac comes out smoking and Bamba plays with more energy.
Dante80 wrote:Bucks fan, wishing health and success for both teams. C:
Have only watched the Heat - whole - and Celtics - condensed only - games (so I may be a little misguided) but this feels like a trap game for us. The Magic are looking right now like a scrappy high effort team, and I think that Isaac is going to make Giannis earn his points tonight (he still has not adjusted to Buds' scheme, and is not playing yet to his standards).
May the best team win!
Must be nice to have a guy averaging 25 ppg, 15 rpg, and 6 apg and still feel like he's not playing up to standards
