The Milwaukee Bucks won the NBA championship in 2021, but for years they have been trying to get back to the NBA Finals.
Unsuccessfully, Milwaukee made major offseason changes last year that seemingly pushed the team further away from the goal. However, they might have the answer to their problems already on the list.
“The Damian (Lillard)-Giannis (Antetokounmpo) pick-and-roll is critical to Milwaukee’s success, but the presence of (Khris) Middleton is critical to the high-level success of that partnership,” RealGM’s Wes Goldberg wrote Monday.
“He’s the way to defend when defenses trap Lillard. He’s the guy who can get the ball to Giannis over the defense. The Bucks can be very good this season without a healthy Middleton, but they can’t win a championship.”
Middleton has become a key part of the Bucks’ core since he emerged as a star in the 2015-16 season. Milwaukee has relied heavily on him since then, but after injuries hampered the 33-year-old the past two seasons, the team looked elsewhere for a star to pair with Antetokounmpo.
Still, in last year’s playoffs, Middleton averaged 24.7 points, 9.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists while shooting 48.2 percent from the field and 39 percent from beyond the arc in the Greek Freak’s absence.
If the South Carolina native can perform even half as well as he did in last year’s playoffs, he could be the key to Milwaukee returning to the NBA Finals.
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