On Wednesday against the Brooklyn Nets, Khris Middleton set a new career-high in assists when he dished out 10 dimes in the Milwaukee Bucks’ 144-122 blowout victory at the Barclays Center. Well, the three-time All-Star outdid himself on Friday as he set a new season-high with 11 assists in Milwaukee’s 119-111 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
At this point, it would be safe to say that Middleton has found his playmaking groove of late.
Milwaukee Bucks Star Giannis Antetokounmpo Heaps Praise on Khris Middleton
Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped a game-high 34 points in this one on 14-of-22 shooting, with more than a few of his points coming off Middleton’s passes. After the game, the former back-to-back MVP heaped praise on his Bucks teammate as Giannis lauded Middleton’s elite playmaking prowess:
“He always can play make,” Antetokounmpo said, via Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “He’s a great playmaker. He’s always going to make the right play. He can make tough passes. Whenever Khris has the ball you have a sense of security that he’s going to take a good shot or he’s going to find you for a lob or in the pocket pass.
“I’ve played with him 11 years now, so I kind of know when to space, when to cut, when to go set the screen for him and maybe make it easy for him. But like, he’s a guy that’s always going to look for you.”
You can clearly see how much chemistry Giannis and Middleton have with each other, and this was on full display on Friday against the Cavs.
It is also worth noting that Middleton played 33 minutes again on Friday, which is now the fourth game in a row that he’s eclipsed the 30-minute mark in terms of his playing time. It appears that Middleton has now fully recovered from his offseason surgery, and he’s finally closing in on peak form again.
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1 Comment
He could almost be better than peak form, even if the scoring is down ever so slightly.
Since the minute cap of 26 was lifted, he’s played in 10 games (and sat out one).
He’s averaged 18.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.9 assist (double digits in two straight), on .50/.40/.95 shooting splits.
Sounds like the old KM to me, and pretty remarkable that he’s still clutch, playing good defense, and just under his normal 20 point average as the 3rd option is remarkable.
I saw the Celtics recently and they have no bench. I’m honestly more scared of the Cavs when they get healthy.