Khris Middleton — Not Giannis Antetokounmpo — Is Key To Milwaukee Bucks’ Title Aspirations



Following the Milwaukee Bucks’ Game 3 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, one thing is clear — Khris Middleton is the Bucks’ MVP.

While Giannis Antetokounmpo may be the former league MVP and the focal point, the key to the Bucks’ quest for their first championship since 1974 is the play of their two-time All-Star small forward, Middleton.

It’s Middleton — not Antetokounmpo — who proved to be the difference in the Bucks’ Game 3 victory over the Hawks on Sunday. The 29-year-old swingman scored a playoff career-high 38 points — including 20 alone in the fourth quarter — to give the Bucks a 2-1 series lead.

Middleton went 15-of-26 from the field and 6-of-12 from beyond the arc to finish with a starting lineup-high plus-16 plus/minus rating.

For all of Antetokounmpo’s strengths — and he’s truly a once-in-a-generation type of player — he’s not a closer. That much has become evident over the past two postseasons as the Bucks were eliminated before even reaching the NBA Finals as a top seed.

The “Greek Freak’s” inability to convert free throws and his struggles to convert on 3-point and long-range jump shots in the closing minutes of games is well-documented. สล็อต ฝาก-ถอน true wallet

According to NBA.com, Antetokounmpo is converting on just 43.8 percent of his free-throw attempts and hasn’t made a single 3-point attempt in “clutch time” situations — the last five minutes of a game with the point differential five points or less — during the postseason.

By comparison, Middleton is hitting 83.3 percent of his free-throw attempts in “clutch time” situations — something that is absolutely pivotal in tight postseason games that are often decided by a key possession or two.

It’s no coincidence that the Bucks are as close as they’ve ever been to the NBA Finals during the Antetokounmpo era — all because Middleton as emerged as a true closer.