Will Khris Middleton Have Repeat Performance in Game 2?

There were plenty of big-time shots hit across the NBA in the opening game of each series, but none were bigger than Khris Middleton’s fadeaway jumper to lift the Milwaukee Bucks to an overtime win over the Miami Heat.

Middleton is one of the most underrated scorers in the NBA, and he had a game-high 27 points on 10-of-22 shooting in the Game 1 victory. While Giannis Antetokounmpo gets most of the attention, Middleton was certainly the Bucks’ best player on Saturday. 

Can he do it again tonight? WynnBET currently has Middleton’s projected point total set at 21.5 points with the under (-125) being favored to the over (+104). Vegas may not believe in Middleton to repeat his performance from Game 1, but the two-time All-Star has had recent playoff success against the Heat. 

Last season, Middleton averaged 25.6 points per game on 41.7 percent shooting against Miami in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Granted, Giannis was out of the lineup for most of Game 4 and all of Game 5 of that series, but Middleton still scored 23.0 points per game in the series’ first three games. 

Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer also seems to want Middleton, Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday to play all the minutes that they can handle, as each player in the trio was on the court over 42 minutes in Game 1.

Middleton also quietly had another efficient regular season, as he shot 47.6 percent from the floor and 41.4 percent from 3-point range while averaging 20.4 points.

The Heat have to be happy with their strategy in Game 1. They held Antetokounmpo to 10-of-27 shooting and lost in overtime in a game that Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo combined to shoot just 8-for-37. If they continue to swarm Antetokounmpo down low, it could mean that Middleton has more space to operate on the perimeter. 

Miami has shown that it can defend, but as long as Middleton gets off 20-plus shots, he’s a great bet to hit the over.