Khris Middleton
Whether fans either don’t know or they choose to forget, yes, Khris Middleton was once a Detroit Piston. He’s slowly emerging as one of the best second-options in the entire league. The All-Star was having a remarkable season before it was cut short.
Middleton went on a 34-game stretch this season where in 24 of those games, he shot over 50 percent from the field. Over the span he averaged 20.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.6 assists on .520/.453/.907 shooting splits.
Not only were the Milwaukee Bucks on their way to potentially winning the NBA Finals this season, but Middleton was proving that he belongs in the conversation of being one of the best players in the entire league.
People underrate him because it’s easy. They don’t watch him or the Bucks play because they’re a small market team. However if you watch just one quarter of any game that Milwaukee plays, you’ll understand why so many hold him in such a high regard.
Middleton is the quintessential embodiment of what makes the Bucks such a lethal team. He’s going to score inside on you, he can draw contact, he can defend, and he can bury you from the perimeter.
Detroit desperately needed more consistency this season, and this may have been Middleton’s most consistent season to date. Would he alone have been able to carry the Pistons to the playoffs? No, probably not.
But he’d have been scoring upwards of 30 points per game on 50 percent shooting without question.