A bucket away from history

A lot of the Milwaukee Bucks' success was due to Giannis Antetokounmpo before the NBA announced its suspension of he season. One guy the media or people kept forgetting about was Khris Middleton. The South Carolina athlete was almost on pace to be the fifth player in NBA history with 20+ points to join the 50/40/90 club. In 55 games, Middleton averaged 21.1 points in which he shot 49.88% from the field, 41.8% from three and 90.8% from the free throw line.

"I've never been on pace for 50/40/90. It's something that I've always wanted to be. That's just an elite scorer and elite shooter with those type numbers and efficiency,» Middleton told ESPN. «If we get back to the season, I'll just try to continue what I'm doing. I'm not going to pressure myself to keep that type of goal or record, I just need to go out there and just do what I need to do to help this team win."

He knows he'll never be in the same conversation as Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was the front runner for his second consecutive MVP award this year. It doesn't bother him at all, it kind of motivates him. Just like he told Eric Woodyard, his only concern when or if the season continues, is to go to the NBA finals. Milwaukee hasn't done it since the 1973-1974 season.

To go back to the historic record he was getting close to, only Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki and Larry Bird have done it before. Those are all Hall of Famers who have done a lot for the League and the sport in general. This proves how worthy Middleton is to his club. An efficient scorer to whom you can pass the ball and most of the time, it goes in. Plus, the guy is a lockdown defender, sort of a playmaker (4.1 assists per game) and just a great teammate in general.

George Hill (point guard) said he was one of the best teammate he's ever had.

Wesley Matthews, when asked about Khris' impact, said "he is a huge part of what we do. He makes big plays, big shots."

Even his coach seems to like him very very much: "I've grown to appreciate how steady he is and how he plays and how subtle his game is, both defensively and offensively," he even added: "He's a heck of a player that sometimes I think is underappreciated."

All of that isn't only due to the defense being worried about Giannis' impact on the floor and there is proof to that. On january the 28th, the Greek Freek was out with a right shoulder injury against the Washington Wizards. With his superstar teammate out, Middleton stepped up and put up 51 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists in a big victory at home. In total, Giannis missed six games, in those, the two time All-Star averaged 27 points and was a huge part of the Bucks going 5-1 without Giannis on the floor.

Before the suspension, the Bucks were on their way to reach a little under 70 wins this season. It gets pretty obvious the League won't be able to play the rest of his regular season games, but Middleton believes going straight to the playoffs wouldn't be the same as every year.

"You always watch the first couple games of the preseason and regular season, then you watch towards the middle of the season or the end of the season and it's totally different basketball," he said. "Guys get their legs up under them and are in much better shape."

The athlete is trying his best to keep a good shape, working out at home:
"It's still about every other day just to stay in shape, but not kill myself because we don't know how long this thing is going to last," Middleton said. "I hope we get to get back on that court to finish the season some way, somehow, but with everything the NBA is saying, they're trying to do everything possible to make sure this season doesn't go to waste for anybody."

Credit: ESPN

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