6. Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton
Both pieces of Milwaukee‘s All-Star tandem enjoyed career years under 2019 NBA Coach of the Year Mike Budenholzer. Khris Middleton cemented himself as a legitimate sidekick to Giannis Antetokounmpo, making his first All-Star Game appearance in the process. Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo enjoyed career-highs in point, rebounds, and assists en route to his first NBA MVP award.
The Bucks seemingly came out of nowhere this season, earning the Eastern Conference’s top seed and finishing the regular season with the NBA’s best record at 60-22. Antetokounmpo was transcendent, getting to the rim at will and turning in many dominant performances. There simply has never been another player with his combination of size, speed, strength, and finesse. However, to become truly unstoppable, he must develop a consistent jump shot.
The problem is not that Antetokounmpo cannot hit perimeter jumpers. There are stretches where he knocks down jump shots respectably and forces opponents to check him on the perimeter. His cold stretches, on the other hand, are a massive issue for Milwaukee when it comes to true contention.
For much of the playoffs, the Bucks looked dominant with Antetokounmpo running the offense, but an elite Toronto Raptors defense was able to place Kawhi Leonard on the Greek Freak and severely mitigate his offensive impact. This, combined with ill-timed struggles from the free throw line, caused the Bucks to lose four consecutive games to Toronto in the Eastern Conference Finals, losing the series in six.
Middleton’s perimeter prowess makes him an ideal running mate for the reigning MVP for this reason exactly. When Antetokounmpo goes cold, Middleton has enough scoring tools to facilitate the offense. He is a skilled mid-range isolation scorer but also knocks down the 3-point shot at roughly a 38 percent clip. Middleton failed on this front in the Toronto series, but the Raptors employed one of the NBA’s best five-man defensive lineups in recent history. This is not meant to excuse his subpar performance, but simply to explain how such a dominant attack could be nullified like Milwaukee was.
One thing that sets this duo apart is the defensive abilities of both players. Antetokounmpo was a Defensive Player of the Year finalist this past season and has the ability to make freakish defensive plays both in the half-court and in transition due to his tremendous length. Middleton, meanwhile is a high-end wing defender who can be tasked with limiting the perimeter scoring of opposing teams.
With Kawhi Leonard out of Toronto, Milwaukee, led by Middleton and Antetokounmpo, figures to contend for the Eastern Conference crown once again.