Player development and shooting coaches often refer to the ability to maintain proper fundamentals while under the duress of an NBA game as “shot readiness.” Khris Middleton of the Milwaukee Bucks is one of the game’s masters at achieving this amid defense, fatigue and all the other factors that make shooting in a game so different from shooting in an empty gym.
His proficiency as an outside shooter is reflected in a wide array of statistics. The 1.16 points per possession that he generates on his jump shot is the best mark in the league for a player with his shot volume. More remarkably, a significant portion of these shots are off of the game’s most difficult attempts — drifting in either direction, pulling up off of the dribble, with a hand in his face — and sometimes all of the above.
Synergy Sports tracks jumpers as “guarded” vs. “unguarded,” and Middleton is the best player in the NBA in the former category. He registers 1.48 points per possession on “guarded” attempts, a staggering figure that’s on par with a player making 49.3 percent of his 3-pointers.
Yet “guarded” is a bit inaccurate when describing many of these shots because of how Middleton expertly identifies moments of defensive weakness and exploits them. He may technically be considered as “guarded” because of the proximity of the nearest defender, but functionally speaking, he is often open even when there is a defender right next to him. That is because he achieves shot readiness as well as anyone his size in the NBA, regardless of the action that precedes the shot attempt. Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant are the only players who can rival him in this respect.
Zayas goes through a bunch of Middleton clips on his shot.
