Vintage Middleton was stealthy, reliable
Khris Middleton is the big brother who will come get you in your stranded car on the freeway. He’s the neighbor who will always lend you that tool you need to fix something in the house. He’s the guy who remembers a promise. Who shows up on time, never using traffic as an excuse for being late.
That’s why the Game 1 Bucks win over the Pacers in the first round of their NBA playoff series Sunday night was vintage Khris ‘Khash Money’ Middleton. It might have been Middleton’s first playoff double-double since the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals, but it felt like the clock had been turned back to Khris Middleton, 2019 postseason run. Mr. Steady and Reliable.
Middleton found ways to help, on both ends of the court, but right away he stood out on defense. Lunging in passing lanes, chasing deflections, causing disruptions. Playing long. Ripping down defensive boards. Getting after it aggressively, against an Indiana Pacers team that led the NBA both in scoring (123-plus points) and assists (30-plus) all year long.
And then, the classic Khris Middleton, the side of him that maybe will never be fully appreciated. He is the ultimate complementary teammate.
It doesn’t matter if it is Giannis Antetokounmpo or Damian Lillard, if they are rolling through and getting buckets, Middleton holds the door open, and lets them pass through first. He waits patiently for his moment, pouncing when he sees the slightest opening and making the most of any opportunity. He doesn’t force anything, he doesn’t feel insecure about his role.
Middleton led all Bucks with a +/- of +25 because he had 23 points, on 9 of 14 shooting, with 10 rebounds, four assists and a blocked shot, and those stats don’t detail the crisp passing and ball movement, the high motor in nearly 35 minutes of play. Dame was the star of Game 1, but Middleton was the glue that helped keep the team together.
“Every night not going to be my night. I know, at some point, the ball will find me if I’m in the right positions,” said Middleton. “My teammates have a lot of confidence in me. So, if Dame doesn’t get going, and we need the possession - they know they can count on me to make a play happen - not necessarily (to) score, but get up a good shot for the team.
“I take a lot of pride in that, playing with patience, playing with poise. Not getting too rattled when guys try to be physical underneath me. I just take my time to get to my spots. Don’t let them rush me, don’t let them irritate me.”
The Bucks are always markedly better when Middleton can play like this because he always meets the needs of the team in the moment that the team needs him.
The most obvious example: Trailing by as much as 30, the Pacers’ used a 29-point third quarter to creep back in to the game, cutting the Bucks’ lead to just 83-71 in the fourth quarter. Lillard wasn’t scoring like he was in the first half, and Bobby Portis was picking up the slack there.
Middleton also took over with a three, another bucket, and a drive and draw of a foul for two made free throws. Middleton is also one of the best passers on the team, and Milwaukee’s ball movement was unstoppable on some of those possessions. Just like that, the Bucks were back up, 99-77.
And the Pacers and Bucks started their chatter and mild shoving.
“He makes really good decisions,” said Bucks coach Doc Rivers. “He made big shots for us. But he’s a calming factor for our team, when things started getting hairy ... composure - again, guys start talking. Khris is the only one that’s going to ... (Rivers gestures with a hand up, making a stopping motion). Keep playing. That’s what we need from him.”
But even before that, the Pacers got off to a horrid start – in part because of Middleton. While Lillard shredded Indiana’s defense for 35 first half points, the Pacers crumbled with seven early turnovers. Most of them looked like unforced errors with shoddy, errant, off-target-looking passes. In the middle of that was Middleton, sometimes manning up, sometimes roaming.
It doesn’t matter that he didn’t get a steal in the game; he threatened to get them, and at this level, that can be just enough to throw off the opponent. In Game 1, it messed with Indiana’s attack. That’s unusual. The Pacers are talented, savvy and smart but they shot only 40% and were limited to 20 team assists.
Middleton’s presence on defense helped lead to a 1-0 start to the series for the Bucks, who lost 6 of 8 in April, causing a lot of doubt about their ability to do anything in the postseason.
“I just try to be in the right spots, defensively,” he said. “I’m a great team defender. Just being in the right spots, trying to alter passes, get deflections, make guys think or hesitate just a little bit, it helps the primary defender a little bit.”
Behind the scenes, it was interesting to observe Middleton a little bit last week. The Bucks experienced a miracle – a full week of practice leading up to the playoffs with coach Doc Rivers, three months into his coaching tenure.
All the public drama and attention surrounded Lillard, rightly so, given the point guard’s position and adversity. In fact, when Lillard talked to the media midweek, the press conference went just long enough that Bucks big man Brook Lopez interceded, and said, to a crowd of reporters, ‘OK, leave Dame alone,’ and then he took the spot at the microphone. It was a lighthearted moment, but noteworthy given that Lopez doesn’t exactly seek the spotlight either.
The other talk was also all about whether Giannis Antetokounmpo’s calf injury would heal quickly enough for him to play. It didn’t.
Other Bucks characters got their time, and their answers and observations were colorful.
Middleton? Simple and straightforward. For as smart of a guy as he is, and driven to work at this game, and friendly to teammates in practice, laughing and joking, he can sound like a statistics professor in press conferences. His sometimes dry answers don’t garner a lot of pub and they hide who he really is.
This is his ideal prime habitat. Middleton loves it when attention is directed elsewhere.
In practice, though, Rivers and the staff were working Middleton like crazy, giving him point guard ball-handling responsibilities for two days, and running him the rest of the time like he was a 25year old superstar once again. Milwaukee kept loading up the responsibilities, finding no limit to what Middleton could handle.
The fact is the 32-year old Middleton is steady and reliable. Unflashy. His pride and work ethic fuel him but he always puts his ego aside for his team.
And that can mean that we take him for granted sometimes.
One time I told former head coach Mike Budenholzer I was trying to think of new story ideas for Middleton, an 11-year Bucks veteran, because we’ve already detailed all the positive things about him; it’s hard to come up with something new. “Tell me about it,” laughed Bud. In fact, Middleton got so weary of dealing with the media that in the 2021 NBA championship run, he conveniently found a teammate – any teammate – to join him at the press table podium so he wouldn’t have to answer the questions (which can get redundant) alone.
To Middleton, that’s not a downside. He is dependable and undramatic, and can be overlooked by the audience. It’s exactly how Khris Middleton prefers it. Go ahead. Forget about him for a minute.
He’s just waiting in the shadows, ready to strike. Middleton’s role may have shifted with the addition of Lillard to the Bucks this season, but his multi-strength ability to give in all areas of the game remains the same.
“Especially this season, (I) just do whatever is needed,” said Middleton, in the most matter-of-fact way that he is famous for. “Simple as that really.”
Columnist Milwaukee Journal Sentinel USA TODAY NETWORK – WIS.