Season Review: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe, Khris Middleton

After Mitchell Maurer bravely went through each player on the Bucks roster with this Three B’s series, we’re following it up with the rest of the staff’s thoughts on Milwaukee’s player performances this year. Each installment will include a trio of players with a synopsis of their season, the staff’s collective grades for their season and some follow-up thoughts. In the final installment, we look at the Bucks’ best guys.

Milwaukee’s three best players each fared pretty well in the regular season, but couldn’t get them over the first round playoff hump. How did they all rate out in the staff’s eyes?

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Synopsis

What more is there to say about such a stellar season from Giannis Antetokounmpo. He’ll likely finish in the top-five in MVP voting. His career-high usage rate continues to be met with efficient scoring (54.7% effective field goal percentage) and even his 3-point percentage (31.4%) was his best since his rookie season. His propensity and effectiveness (72% shooting) at the rim remains startling considering he still takes a steady diet of midrangers more likely than not to clank off the back iron. That shooting percentage at the rim ranks in the 92nd percentile for his position, but he also dialed back the number of shots he took in there, down to 54% of his shots after 58% the year prior. Him expanding his game to the arc is probably a necessity as he draws more attention if only to keep them honest, but he could likely stand to up his attempts at the rim again next year. He also showed an incredibly adept ability to draw shooting fouls, a career high 19.3% percent that’s in the 100th percentile for his position group. If he can rectify his free throw percentage (and occasionally troubling routine timing) to get up around 80-85% that will be a number of more easy points to add to his total.

His block percentage was down from last year, but he remains Milwaukee’s most athletic and durable rim protector. Some of the insane recovery blocks he flashed last year seemed a little less prevalent this season, likely due to his incredible offensive burden, but he remains a menace who can guard almost all five positions. His biggest deficiency remains poor lateral speed, so scooting guards can flit past him and reach the rim. However, the on/off stats show that teams attack the basket with far more verve when he’s on the bench, as their opponent’s percentage of shots at the rim go up by 6%, a mark in the 95th percentile for forwards. He remains a deterrent who’s central to almost all of the Bucks success offensively and defensively this season. The team was +2.6 points per 100 possessions with him on the court and -7.0 with him off. Giannis still seems like there’s plenty of room to grow even as he scratches the ceiling of true MVP contention. Large jumps still seem plenty feasible for him.

Staff Grades

Adam: Giannis’ leap this season shouldn’t have been unexpected, but it remains amazing how he can command the game without a jump shot. It still seems like there are several levels for him to ascend in terms of owning the floor too, picking his spots when to take control and working his teammates like a chess board.

Kyle: I’m not there are anymore words used to describe Giannis this season. He carried this team the majority of the season despite poor coaching and inconsistency from all of his teammates. The best part is he can still get better next year.

Greg: I am most excited for Giannis to finally (hopefully) get a solid coach and support staff that can effectively utilize his on court skills and nurture his growth from a basketball IQ standpoint. All I need to see out of him next year is to stop taking long two-pointers and be consistent from the free-throw line.

Eric Bledsoe

Synopsis

His poor playoff performances may color fans’ perspective of Eric Bledsoe going into this offseason, but the fact remains his presence was a significant upgrade for this Bucks team at the point guard position. Probably their best player at the spot since, T.J. Ford perhaps, his steady performance was an adequate complement to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. His career-best 54.8% effective field goal percentage put him in the 81st percentile among his position, per Cleaning the Glass, and 35.3% from three was serviceable enough to make his driving game still a competent weapon even as teams went under screens against him.

Some may hold the fact he was assisted on just 42% of his baskets against him (just 36th percentile), but Milwaukee needed someone who could provide instant offense when Khris was off and Giannis sat. Eric Bledsoe’s best attribute all year remained his rim finishing, where he shot an absurd 67%, a figure bolstered by his impressive strength and ability to finish through contact. Indeed, he had a near career-high percentage of and-1 chances on fouls drawn this year, but his overall shooting foul percentage dipped to 11.2%, his worst mark since the 2012-13 season, albeit still in the 75th percentile for his position. It would behoove Milwaukee for him to steer even further into driving towards the basket, particularly if there’s more space on the court. However, there were plenty of bugaboos, and his penchant for overpowering the offense short-circuited it far too many times. When he fell into the trap of early shot clock midrangers, it was death for Milwaukee’s offense. Bledsoe also seemed incapable of properly operating within the defensive scheme, freelancing in hopes of steals and finding himself out of position. He might be Milwaukee’s best on-ball defender when he’s locked in and he needs to rediscover that tenacity next year. It’s a legitimate question whether he has that in him to maintain the energy all season long.

Staff Grades

Adam: I’m still a Bledsoe believer, even after his poor postseason. His defensive potential seems untapped and his controlled efficiency for the last few months of the season was rather impressive. An engaged, picking his spots Bledsoe is still the best chance for a talent upgrade on this team.

Kyle: We saw the good (the month of Feb-Apr regular season) and the bad (Dec and January, playoffs) from Bledsoe. Overall, he did make Milwaukee better in the short term and is a positive defensively. If he is not playing hurt or petty, Bledsoe has the positive impact Milwaukee needs from its third best player.

Greg: The Bledsoe trade was great and I am not so sure the Bucks make the playoffs without him. When Malcolm Brogdon and Matthew Dellavedova went down with injuries, Bledsoe shouldered the load and helped stabilize what would have otherwise been a disastrous stretch of depleted guard depth.

Khris Middleton

Synopsis

Khris Middleton is the model of consistency. Just a season removed from missing over half the year with a devastating hamstring injury, Middleton didn’t miss a single game en route to playing the second most minutes in the league behind Lebron James. That’s an issue Milwaukee should rectify next season to ensure he doesn’t wear down as his career continues, but the Playoffs showed that he still had plenty of juice in him at the game’s highest level. With a career-high usage rate, his effective field goal percentage (52.5%) was still up over the past two years. Most interestingly, that came on a year when his 3-point percentage went, relatively, in the toilet, dipping down to 36% after averaging 40+% over the past four years. He compensated for that with an absolutely blistering year from the midrange, torching opponents from a place most teams have abandoned in their pursuit of Moreyball perfection. His diet of shot attempts from that area (52% of his total shots) wasn’t that different from year’s past, but he nailed 50% of all midrange shots, ranking in the 96th percentile at his position per Cleaning the Glass. With a likely uptick in his shooting percentage from deep coming next year, one hopes he can effectively marry the two areas under a new coaching staff.

The Bucks scoring differential with him on the court wasn’t quite as sterling as in year’s past, but he remained a clear net-positive for this team while he was out there. One primary knock would be his defense, where he seemed a step slow against wings and didn’t quite show the free-ranging ball hawking he’s had in year’s past. His steal percentage was the lowest of the past four years. He’s never been the finest one-on-one defender, but his switchability is a clear asset for a team that found success with that tactic in the postseason. Khris is entering his fourth year of a contract where he’s likely to decline his fifth year option. He also planted himself as the clear number two to Giannis with his postseason run. Most people would agree that’s not enough to take Milwaukee where they want to go though.

Staff Grades

Adam: Khris Middleton’s admirable leap in the Playoffs illustrated he can hang with the league’s assassins at the highest level. His midrange game is frustrating to watch, but a necessary evil when this team needs someone to create offense on their own. With a slight tweak in mindset, his efficiency could take a huge leap next season behind additional 3-point attempts.

Kyle: Let’s just forget the month of October and this was a good season from Middleton. The playoffs was Middleton getting what ever he wanted whenever. Hopefully we see more threes and maybe better defense next year, but 40% of playoff Middleton will be great.

Greg: Shoot more threes Khris, I am begging you. Shooting 51.7 percent from two-point range is great, but (0.517 * 2) = 1.034 and that 1.034 number is less than the points expected from his three-point shooting, despite it being underwhelming. His 35.9 percent from beyond the arc was good for (.359 * 3) = 1.077. Even with a fantastic mid-range scoring season and a meh three-point shooting season, Khris still contributed more points per shot on his threes. Light it up next season, Khris.