How will the Greek Freak, Jabari Parker, Greg Monroe and the rest of the Milwaukee Bucks fare in 2016-17?
Here are our player scouting reports and analysis.
Projected starters
Matthew Dellavedova
Position: Guard
Experience: 3 years
Age: 26
Scouting report
+ Capable spot-up shooter and passer who struggles inside the arc
+ Plays as hard as anyone in the NBA
+ Looking to maintain production in a larger role with less talent around him
Analysis
Dellavedova rode the momentum from a brief star turn in the 2015 NBA Finals into the next season, seizing the starting point guard job in Cleveland while Kyrie Irving was recuperating from injury and posting the best season of his career. Though he fell out of the rotation in the NBA Finals, the Bucks pounced on Dellavedova in restricted free agency. Knowing it would not match what would have been a four-year, $38 million offer sheet, Cleveland instead elected to sign-and-trade Delly to obtain the trade exception that became Mike Dunleavy.
With the trade of Michael Carter-Williams, Dellavedova is now the Bucks' unquestioned starting point guard. He was the perfect role player in Cleveland, draining open spot-ups, playing pesky defense and setting up teammates for alley-oops out of the pick-and-roll with the floor spaced.
Dellavedova ranked ranked 18th in RPM among point guards. It remains to be seen whether he can maintain the same quality of play without LeBron James and company to occupy the defense. While he made a high percentage of his spot-ups, he got a ton of open looks in Cleveland. Delly doesn't have the most versatile jump shot, requiring an awkward deep crouch with his feet perfectly set to get his shot off. That makes him hard-pressed to take a traditional jumper off the dribble, and because he can't get all the way to the rim, much less finish there, he is forced to rely on inherently inefficient floaters when his preferred passes aren't available. As a result Dellavedova made only 40.1 percent of his 2-pointers, a marked improvement from the previous year's 30.7 percent inside the arc. One aspect of his game that could mesh well with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker is his facility as a pick-and-pop screener.
Defensively, Dellavedova executes the system and competes, pursuing loose balls as hard as any player in basketball. While he effectively denies shooters by getting into them off the ball and will fight over screens, he struggles in pure isolation situations because of his athletic limitations. As the only established point guard on the Bucks' roster, Dellavedova might have to modify his style to avoid foul trouble, because he has averaged 3.6 fouls per 36 minutes for his career.
Tony Snell
Position: Guard
Experience: 3 years
Age: 24
Scouting report
+ Chicago's out-of-rotation shooting guard should start in Milwaukee after trade
+ Shows flashes but must improve in both aspects to become a bona fide 3-and-D guy
+ Development stagnated in 2015-16
Analysis
From the moment foul trouble forced him to guard LeBron James in his NBA debut, Snell's Bulls career never went as planned. Chicago drafted him with hopes he could mature into a 3-and-D shooting guard with enough ballhandling skills to run pick-and-rolls on the weak side, but that player never materialized. After three years of largely uninspiring play, Snell was traded for Michael Carter-Williams a few weeks into training camp. While the Bucks might have been able to get more for Carter-Williams by waiting to trade him to a point guard needy team during the season, the timing of this trade does allow them to engage Snell in extension talks before the Oct. 31 deadline.
The plan, according to coach Jason Kidd, is for Snell is to start at the 2 after Khris Middleton suffered what might be a season-ending hamstring injury. Snell might still have some upside and looks better than the Bucks' other weak options at the position, but he will need to improve his shooting back to the levels he reached two years ago.
Snell's .361 3-point shooting was adequate in 2015-16, but he suffered a massive slump inside the arc. Snell devolved from 49.4 percent on 2s his second year to only 38 percent last season, despite taking more than 56 percent of his shots from that range. At the rim, he dropped from an outstanding 67.5 percent to an atrocious 47.8 percent. Snell should be able to bounce back slightly on 2s and should have plenty of chances to spot up from deep alongside the Bucks' creators. He has quickened his release from downtown over the years, although he sometimes appears to be rushing his shot, even when he's wide open.
On defense, Snell lacks the heft to defend bigger wings and isn't quite athletic enough to be a plus defender against 1s. Snell can be effective guarding players his size with his 6-foot-11½ wingspan, and he also gets on the glass to the tune of a 14.3 percent defensive rebound rate. The Bulls did defend 10.4 points better per 100 possessions with Snell on the floor (and he had by far the highest net rating of their rotation players), but that differential might overstate his effectiveness, because he alternated playing time with the defenseless Doug McDermott in Chicago.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Position: Forward
Experience: 3 years
Age: 21
Scouting report
+ "Greek Freak" slated to be Milwaukee's primary ball handler
+ One of the longest and most athletic wings in the NBA; exceptional versatility
+ Must improve shooting to fulfill potential as a superstar
Analysis
Already considered one of the best prospects in basketball, "The Greek Freak" experienced a remarkable evolution of his game because of injuries to Bucks point guards Michael Carter-Williams and Greivis Vasquez. With few other options, coach Jason Kidd decided to make Antetokounmpo his lead ball handler after the All-Star Break and the team thrived. After the break, the Bucks scored 105.9 points per 100 possessions and had a 0.1 net rating with Giannis on the floor. He averaged 18.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 7.2 assists in that span. Most impressively for a young player in an expanded role, "Point Giannis" managed to turn the ball over on only 10.6 percent of his possessions.
While Antetokounmpo appeared a no-brainer max extension candidate, the Bucks convinced him to take slightly less than the projected $106 million max over four years, settling on a $100 million pact that locks in cost-certainty for Milwaukee should the max increase because of higher league revenues. It is too early to tell whether those savings will offset the advantage of getting Antetokounmpo under contract for a fifth year via a projected five-year, $138 million designated player extension.
Giannis' athleticism for his size and length is the most striking aspect of his game. He had a reported 7-foot-4 wingspan at draft time in 2013 and is said to have grown since. Antetokounmpo is among the league's best grab-and-go players and probably has the most effective Euro step in the league because of his long strides.
The scary thing is that Antetokounmpo still has a ton of ways to improve his game and turns only 22 in December. In the half court, he needs to improve his shooting. Antetokounmpo is not a threat from beyond the arc and doesn't shoot well from midrange either. He can get into the post for a jump hook on occasion, but overall he shot a subpar .346 from 3-9 feet. Without a jumper or efficient post game, he can by stymied by pick-and-roll switches.
On defense, Giannis is a fantastic isolation defender, because he swallows up opponents with his length. He began to take on some of the tougher wing assignments from Khris Middleton in 2015-16 and garners plenty of steals and blocks with his long arms. Antetokounmpo does find it harder to get those long limbs around screens, but he can hold up on all but the league's burliest players on switches. Though the Bucks struggled on the glass as a whole, Antetokounmpo did chip in with a 20.0 defensive rebound rate.
Jabari Parker
Position: Forward
Experience: 2 years
Age: 21
Scouting report
+ Bouncy combo forward looks fully recovered from ACL tear
+ Taking on larger role as a scorer this season with matchup advantage at either forward
+ Subpar defense and rebounding holding him back as a prospect
Analysis
Most did not know what to expect from Parker coming off an ACL tear in December 2014, but he looked 100 percent athletically from the jump and appeared back to his old self by the end of the year. Parker's somewhat pudgy body type belies his status as one of the most athletic 4s in the league. He threw down 129 dunks last season and is a force attacking the rim off one or two feet.
The Chicago Simeon product's one-on-one scoring was theoretically his best attribute coming out of Duke, but in his first two years he has instead feasted as one of the league's better opportunistic scorers. Parker excels at lurking along the baseline or cutting in from the wing to receive passes for dunks, and he loves to sprint the floor in transition. It would be nice to see him use his athleticism on the offensive glass a bit more though. And while he can get shorter jumpers off against anyone, he's yet to stretch out to the NBA 3-point line as a spot-up threat. Especially early in the season, Parker appeared caught between a set shot and the jumper he shot in college, perhaps an artifact of only being able to practice shooting flat-footed for a time after the ACL injury.
While the Middleton injury might be the death knell for the Bucks' playoff chances, it will allow Parker to develop more with the ball in his hands. Either he or Antetokounmpo will be guarded by the opposing team's power forward, and Parker certainly has the quickness and ball skills to abuse such matchups. At about 250 pounds, he can also bully even combo forwards in the post. It remains to be seen whether Parker can score efficiently one-on-one, but his skill level and record at the lower levels suggests such potential.
The biggest problem for Parker as a long-term prospect is how little he provides in the floor game. While he played on the perimeter defensively more than expected as the nominal power forward (and struggled to keep his mark in front when he did), his anemic 12.8 percent defensive rebound rate was a big part of the Bucks getting killed on the defensive glass. Despite his athleticism, Parker almost never rebounds out of his area and will often just stand there 15 feet from the basket when a shot goes up. It's a shame, because Parker is impossible to stop on grab-and-goes when he actually gets the defensive board. He also struggles with the help responsibilities of a traditional 4, as he is often late to rotate and has a maddening habit of weakly swiping at the ball as drivers go up instead of getting his body in front and contesting.
Miles Plumlee
Position: Center
Experience: 4 years
Age: 28
Scouting report
+ Finishes alley-oops in pick-and-roll, will get on the offensive glass
+ Plays hard and runs the floor, has bounce in space but a bit undersized at center
+ Only average pick-and-roll and rim defender, rates poorly by team-based metrics
Analysis
Considered a throw-in to the Brandon Knight/Michael Carter-Williams trade, Plumlee is now all the Bucks have to show for that blockbuster exchange. It appeared the market had dried up for Plumlee over the summer as a restricted free agent before Milwaukee brought him back on a four-year, $52 million deal after utilizing his small cap hold to sign Dellavedova and Mirza Teletovic. Plumlee was drafted at age 24, so last year and this year might be the best we see of him.
Plumlee figures to start after projecting as the third center to start last season. While he is less skilled than Greg Monroe and can't block shots like John Henson, he is the closest thing to a two-way option the Bucks have at the position. Plumlee can get up in space and should make a nice alley-oop combination with Dellavedova, and because he's a Plumlee, he runs the floor hard. He will post up on occasion and was effective in the paint outside the restricted area, though his .550 shooting in the 3-9 foot range is unsustainable. Plumlee was also the most effective of the Milwaukee centers on the offensive glass.
Plumlee is a little undersized for a center, with a 7-foot-1 wingspan and only an 8-foot-9½ standing reach, and he is a bit below average as a rim-protector. He has good mobility and plays hard, although he can be a bit jumpy on defense and doesn't have amazing technique guarding the pick-and-roll. Incidentally, ESPN's Real Plus-Minus would not agree with the Bucks' decision to start Plumlee over Monroe; he ranked an ugly 60th out of 63 centers overall and 59th in defensive RPM.
Reserves
Mirza Teletovic
Position: Forward
Experience: 4 years
Age: 31
Scouting report
+ Bench 3-point threat brings needed floor-spacing to Milwaukee
+ Better floor game than stereotypical stretch 4
+ Could regress after career year at age 30
Analysis
Given some of the other contracts handed out to stretch 4s last offseason, Teletovic was a quality signing for the Bucks on a three-year, $30 million deal. Playing in what became an NBA backwater in Phoenix, Teletovic quietly set a record for 3s by a reserve with 172 a year ago, putting up a career-high .571 true shooting percentage on a career-high 23.4 percent usage. SCHOENE does foresee a regression in those categories at age 31, but he should still provide needed spacing for Milwaukee's ball handlers, especially with Middleton's injury. Teletovic is also heady and strong enough that he isn't atrocious defensively like some stretch 4s. The problem for the Bucks is that it is difficult to play him together with Antetokounmpo and Parker, because one of the three would have to play out of position at either center or shooting guard in such alignments.
While Teletovic suffers from some of the post-up, defense and rebounding issues that traditionally afflict stretch 4s, he is better in those areas than many such players. He was effective posting up on switches, scoring 0.96 points per possession on his 114 post-ups per Synergy Sports Technology. The Bosnian native was particularly effective with a drop-step from the right block as a counter to his right shoulder fadeaway.
On switches, Teletovic can hold his own decently enough (he even guarded LeBron James for stretches in Brooklyn's 2014 playoff series against Miami) and knows where to be in help situations. His career 17.5 percent defensive rebounding rate is acceptable for a 4, and Phoenix had an acceptable defensive rebounding rate with Teletovic on the floor.
Greg Monroe
Position: Center
Experience: 6 years
Age: 26
Scouting report
+ Skilled interior game proved a poor fit in Milwaukee, doesn't shoot it outside the paint
+ Effective though not dominating post scorer, finishes pick-and-rolls and can pass it
+ Slow and ground-bound, lacks size and instincts to make up for athletic limitations on D
Analysis
The Monroe signing was hailed a coup for the Bucks, the first major free agent to sign in Milwaukee. But the team's failure to fulfill expectations cast a pall over Monroe's performance, and reported efforts to move him this offseason went nowhere. Though Monroe was as good as ever by traditional box score stats, his defensive issues played a big role in the Bucks' regression on that end. In particular the fit with Parker, another below-average defensive big, was problematic. He could prove more effective on the second unit, where he will be less exposed defensively and will have more room to post up playing next to stretch 4 Teletovic.
Other than his inability to hit from outside the paint, Monroe remains a solid offensive player. He can post up against weaker matchups, catch and finish or make the next pass in the pick-and-roll, and get on the offensive glass. Monroe even took a few shots right-handed in 2015-16! He is also a solid passer from the high-post, although the lack of spacing in Milwaukee has cramped the backdoor passes he has favored since his days in the Princeton offense at Georgetown.
Defense is where Monroe really struggles. Teams routinely targeted him in pick-and-roll, especially at the end of games. He lacks length, quickness, and leaping ability. And unlike some other less athletic centers, he lacks good help instincts and is unable to force misses even when he does get there to contest. Monroe also proved unable to help the Bucks' rebounding woes; while he grabbed 23.6 percent of defensive rebounds the Bucks' rebounded no better than with their other centers on the floor. With the ability to opt out of his contract in the summer of 2017, expect trade rumors to swirl around Monroe all season.
Malcolm Brogdon
Position: SG
Experience: Rookie
Age: 23
Scouting report
+ Experienced college senior can handle the ball but lacks burst
+ Built like a tank, should hold his own in strength matchups
+ Competes defensively, 3-point shooting holds the key for playing time
Analysis
A four-year player at Virginia, Brogdon, who turns 24 in December, brings a wealth of experience for a rookie. The 36th pick in the 2016 draft, he brings a stout body and defensive focus to the shooting guard position. While he lacks elite quickness or length to lock down the best scorers, his strength should make him an asset on the switches the Bucks like to deploy. The hope is that he will execute better defensively than the typical rookie because of his college pedigree. Even with the acquisition of Snell, Brogdon should be firmly in the mix for minutes at backup two in competition with Rashad Vaughn.
Offensively, Brogdon is a solid ball handler for a 2, but lacks the explosion to get to the rim once he comes off the pick-and-roll. He also isn't much of a leaper to finish if he does get to the basket. Like so many wings, Brogdon's career prospects rest on his ability to hit the NBA 3. Though he made 39.1 percent of his 192 3-point attempts as a senior at Virginia, he shoots a pretty flat set-shot that might need to be reworked to get the ball to the rim from above-the-break.
John Henson
Position: PF
Experience: 25
Age: 4 years
Scouting report
+ Center skills in a power forward's body
+ Shoots a hook shot every time, which means he never shoots outside the paint
+ One of the league's best shot-blockers, but rest of his game hasn't developed
Analysis
It seems like it was ages ago that Henson agreed to a four-year, $44 million extension that kicks in this year. That appeared to be a good deal at the time for a player the Bucks hoped could grow into a fringe starter, especially with Monroe able to opt out of his deal in the summer of 2017. But after an injury-riddled year that saw him fall to third on the depth chart, Henson appears to make up the least-productive chunk of the more than $40 million the Bucks have committed to their centers this year.
Henson earned that extension as one of the best shot-blockers in basketball, but has largely been unable to develop the other aspects of his game. Though he considers himself a power forward and played there at UNC, Henson's offensive game limits him to the pivot in today's NBA. He takes about 95 percent of his shots within 10 feet, although his nice hook shot with either hand allows him to shoot a nice percentage in the paint. Oddly though, Henson basically never takes a shot with two hands unless it's a dunk. Having to always shoot a hook can limit him at times, especially trying to finish on pick-and-rolls.
Henson might be more effective on offense if he were as explosive finishing at the basket as many shot-blocking specialists, but he uses length and timing more than pure hops to reject his shots. He also remains extremely vulnerable to strength matchups and was a big part of Milwaukee's struggles on the defensive glass because he gets tossed around under the boards. Another limitation for Henson is relatively slow feet for his body type, which makes him only average defending on pick-and-rolls or switches. Overall, his RPM projects to a rough minus-3.5 this year.
Michael Beasley
Position: SF
Experience: 8 years
Age: 27
Scouting report
+ Former second overall pick in 2008 has evolved into a bench gunner as a combo forward
+ Efficiency depends on whether he's hitting his long 2s
+ Likely too limited defensively for major role, spaces out and lacks intensity
Analysis
Beasley spent most of last season in China before a stateside return to Houston following the conclusion of the CBA season. Once he arrived, he immediately began shooting to make up for all the NBA shots he missed, tallying 19 heaves in 15 minutes at Boston in only his fourth game as a Rocket. In Beasley's defense, he was brought in specifically to score when James Harden was out of the game. And despite the high usage, he managed an above-average true shooting percentage in his 20 games with Houston. Much of that, however, was the result of long 2-point shooting well above his career norm. Moreover, in large part due to playing apart from Harden, Houston was 10.6 points per 100 possessions worse with Beasley on the court.
Beasley's game did not change much in China, as he loves to shoot pull-up jumpers off one or two dribbles and can create those shots whenever he wants against second-unit defenders. Once Beasley puts the ball on the floor, the only way it's ending up in a teammate's hands is after an offensive rebound. He took fewer 3s in Houston than in previous stops, but still maintains a decent enough stroke from beyond the arc to space the floor.
Beasley doesn't have great defensive tools at either forward position and exacerbates that with a lack of intensity and focus. His typically rough defense and execution was exploited by Golden State in the playoffs, although Beasley had the last laugh after Draymond Green was suspended in the Finals for an accumulation of flagrant foul points that included a needless takedown of Beasley at the end of Houston's sole playoff victory.
Rashad Vaughn
Position: SG
Experience: 1 year
Age: 20
Scouting report
+ Shooter's reputation out of UNLV has not proved accurate thus far in the NBA
+ Had to play way too much as a rookie, had one of the worst seasons in league history
+ One-position defender with only average tools, executes poorly like most young players
Analysis
One of the youngest players in the 2015 draft, Vaughn was not expected to play a major role on a team with Greivis Vasquez, Jerryd Bayless and O.J. Mayo as options ahead of him at backup shooting guard. Because of injuries to that trio, Vaughn was forced into action with ugly results. He joined an ignominious list of players to log more than 1,000 minutes in a season and post a PER of less than 5.0.
Suffice it to say that Vaughn's contributions were no better outside the traditional box score; his -5.78 RPM was 92nd out of 93 shooting guards.
So Vaughn wasn't ready to contribute in 2015-16. Will he ever be? He has shown little reason to believe that so far. A purported shooter coming out of UNLV, he shot 29.3 percent from 3-point range. He can't finish at the rim either; his .341 shooting there was among the worst marks in the league. Subjectively, Vaughn has only average athletic tools at the 2 and has not shown much shake off the dribble. Vaughn can't even blame high usage for his inefficiency, because he used only 13.5 percent of the Bucks' possessions. The NBA Summer League was unfortunately no kinder to Vaughn, and he shot 8-for-33 on 3-pointers and just 33.8 percent overall. He did at least show the ability to get jumpers off in Vegas.
The story on defense is no better. Vaughn is strictly a one-position defender at the 2, without the size or intensity to defend bigger players or the quickness to keep up with 1s. And his system execution was about what you'd expect from a 19-year-old rookie.
Vaughn was declared the starter immediately after Middleton went down, but the fact the Bucks traded for Snell a few weeks later is illustrative of Vaughn's training-camp performance before suffering a sprained ankle. He still has time to develop, but will need to make massive improvement in nearly all areas to justify rotation minutes.
Jason Terry
Position: Guard
Experience: 17 years
Age: 39
Scouting report
+ One-time pull-up threat has evolved into pure spot-up shooter
+ Very limited defensively at this point in his career
+ Signed for veteran leadership in the locker room, but might be in rotation at the point
Analysis
At first blush, JET's role would appear to be old head in a Bucks locker room that needs some veteran leadership. But with the trade of Michael Carter-Williams and the lack of shooting on the roster, it's probable that Terry will be counted on at backup point guard.
Though Terry was a historically underrated pull-up threat on the pick-and-roll for his career, at age 39 he has long been reduced to a spot-up guy, taking about 70 percent of his shots from downtown in Houston the past two years. He saw more than 90 percent of his 3s assisted in that time frame. Though Terry can no longer get to the paint or draw defensive attention to create for others, his one dimension makes him a reasonable fit next to Antetokounmpo if the two share the court on offense.
On defense the fit is problematic with nearly anyone. Never the most diligent defender even in his prime, the physical decline in his late 30s has exacerbated the problem. He lacks length, intensity, quickness and switchability at this point, as reflected in a minus-2.81 defensive RPM that ranked among the worst in the league.
Thon Maker
Position: PF
Experience: Rookie
Age: 19
Scouting report
+ Long 7-footer with potential as a pick-and-pop center down the road
+ Probably too thin to play much this season, but moves his feet well and can block shots
+ Impressed Bucks with his character in draft process, plays hard and works hard
Analysis
Maker became a sensation early in his high school career because of YouTube mix tapes that branded him among the most skilled 7-foot high schoolers ever. It was clear the first time I saw him at the 2014 adidas Eurocamp that his perimeter skills were oversold by those videos, a fact confirmed in his appearance at the 2015 Nike Hoop Summit. Though he possesses a sweet stroke, Maker hasn't anywhere near the quickness or handle to play on the perimeter on either end.
Aside from being a mixtape star, Maker has had an non-traditional path to the NBA. He was born in Sudan, but his family fled the war-torn nation and resettled in Australia before Maker moved to the U.S. to pursue his high school basketball career. Rather than go to college, Maker declared for the 2016 draft (he was eligible after a post-graduate year at a Canadian high school) and impressed the Bucks enough to be taken 10th overall despite some questions that he was actually 19 when drafted.
As a post player, his thin build looks like it could be a weakness, and he lacks explosion under the rim. Nevertheless, Maker has potential because of his long arms, stroke, and quick feet that should allow him to contain pick-and-rolls and even switch at times. The hope is that Maker can evolve into a solid pick-and-pop big man on offense who can protect the rim and deny penetration on defense. Maker has also shown the ability to knock down turnaround jumpers in the post at the lower levels, although his thin build will probably limit him to posting up in mismatches. For now, the lack of strength should limit Maker to the power forward position, but if he can eventually hold up at center on D the Bucks might really have something down the road.
Steve Novak
Position: Forward
Experience: 10 years
Age: 33
Scouting report
+ Among the best-shooting spot-up bigs in NBA history, but can't do anything else
+ Didn't rebound, protect the rim, or defend one-on-one even in his prime
+ One of the league's funnier players, good pro will provide example for young players
Analysis
Until last season, Novak had remained in the league on the strength of a four-year, $15 million contract signed in the 2012 offseason after his one year as a rotation player. Since getting paid, Novak has been unable to recapture the magic of that "Linsanity" year with the Knicks, instead bouncing from team to team in salary dumps before finally being bought out after the 2016 trade deadline. The shooting-starved Bucks signed the Marquette product shortly thereafter to provide some good vibes and the occasional 3, but he promptly sprained his left MCL in his third game with the team and was shut down for the year.
The Bucks presumably brought him back as a locker room guy, because he has played only 241 minutes over the past two years. While Novak will be able to drain open 3s until he's 60, the rest of his game has progressed beyond unplayable at age 33. Nominally a power forward, Novak was always challenged defensively and on the boards. He can't stop anyone on the perimeter or the post, and while he plays smart he won't be deterring anyone at the rim. Novak's rebound percentages are more in line with a point guard than a power player.
Khris Middleton
Position: SG
Experience: 4 years
Age: 25
Scouting report
+ Bucks' most indispensable player, will miss most of season with severe hamstring tear
+ Smooth offensive game, drains 3s and gets to his spots for pull-ups, can run pick-and-roll
+ Good if unspectacular defender, stays solid on-ball and can switch, but not elite stopper
Analysis
It was a cruel irony that Middleton suffered what could be a season-ending hamstring injury on the day Antetokounmpo signed his rookie extension. The official six-month recovery timeline would put him back on the court in March, but by then the Bucks could be more worried about their draft pick than making the playoffs.
At the time he was hurt, the Bucks had adequate backups at every position except his shooting guard slot. What's more, he was the only wing in their starting lineup with a history of making 3s. His 143 last season were 100 more than Vaughn, the next most-proficient returning Buck, was able to tally.
Middleton is not merely a spot-up specialist. While he lacks explosion at the rim and won't blow past his defender, he patiently works to his spots and can shoot right over the smaller defenders who must guard him while opponents' bigger wings are occupied by Antetokounmpo and Parker. Middleton also showed growth running the pick-and-roll. The Bucks scored an above-average .921 points per possession on the 455 possessions in which Middleton shot or passed directly to a shooter off the pick-and roll, per Synergy Sports Technology, an impressive feat, given the lack of shooting around him. Overall, (and perhaps in part because of his awful backups) Middleton had the second-best offensive RPM among shooting guards.
While Middleton finished eighth in the league in defensive RPM in 2014-15, that probably overrated his contributions. In concert with the Bucks' defensive regression, Middleton slipped to 15th among shooting guards in defensive RPM in 2015-16. He doesn't quite have the athleticism or length to be a pure stopper on the wing, and he struggled to guard Jimmy Butler one-on-one in the 2015 playoffs. Middleton has since ceded some of the tougher wing assignments to Antetokounmpo, but he remains a quality defender who can switch 1 through 4 in a pinch.