Washington Wizards: How Khris Middleton's Injury Impacts D.C.

Washington Wizards have a long list of “Wizards Killers,” but Khris Middleton could be on top of the list. His injury will impact the Wizards.

On Tuesday, The Westgate Superbook in Las Vegas set its over/unders for the 2016-17 NBA Season.

The Washington Wizards, at 42.5, were projected to finish 7th in the East. Tied for 8th were the Charlotte Hornets and the Milwaukee Bucks.

Milwaukee is coming off a disappointing season, but saw great improvements from cornerstone pieces Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton.

Giannis was third in Most Improved Player of the Year voting and Middleton increased his scoring from 13.4 points per game to 18.2.

Of course, these Vegas over/unders were published before Wednesday’s news of Middleton’s hamstring tear and need for surgery, which will sideline him for around six-months.

Assuming that timetable holds true, Middleton would return at best around Mid-March, with only one month left in the regular season.

In the last two seasons, Middleton has missed six games, resulting in one win and losses of 29, 16, 15, 4, and 3.

The loss of Middleton will certainly put more pressure on Giannis and Michael Carter-Williams as the main ball handlers remaining.

Clearly, this unfortunate, and extremely painful sounding injury helps every team in the East.

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One of the best shooting guards in the conference won’t be available for an extended period of time.

Right now Milwaukee’s other options to play the position include second-year player Rashad Vaughn, rookie Malcolm Brogdon, Matthew Dellavedova and Jason Terry.

So yeah, options are looking pretty bleak.

On Wednesday, the Bucks traded for forward Michael Beasley and will continue looking for additional trade opportunities.

Assuming they don’t make a huge move, the team will certainly struggle to replicate what Middleton offered last year.

Middleton’s Offense

In four games against the Washington Wizards, Middleton averaged 21 points – three points higher than his season average and had a true shooting percentage of 60 percent.

The final matchup of the season, a 99-92 win for the Bucks, was the last game before the All-Star break, and a game the Wizards lost after being outscored by eight in the final quarter.

Middleton had 14 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, accounting for just under 50 percent of his team’s points for the period.

For the season, Middleton was second on the team in 3-point percentage, behind only Jerryd Bayless who is no longer on the team, and the rest of the team is sorely lacking in outside shooters.

It’s worth noting that the Washington Wizards were the fourth worst 3-point defending team last season, giving up 37.1 percent shooting.

New Head Coach Scott Brooks will certainly be focusing on improving this next season, as only five of the bottom 15 teams made the playoffs.

Middleton has actually had a lot of success offensively against Washington during his career.

His 18.2 ppg career average against the Wizards is his highest against any opponent, and he’s also shooting 47 percent (23-49) from three in those 11 career games.

Washington has routinely had trouble guarding larger guards like Middleton, and even with a backcourt that has above average athleticism, his 6’8″ frame and skill-set has given Wall, Beal, and company trouble.

Middleton’s Defense

Middleton is also one of the Bucks’ best defenders.

Being a 6’8” shooting guard with a 6’11” wingspan, his length causes problems for opponents on a regular basis.

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He’s shown he has the quickness to stay with faster players and the strength to stick with small-forwards and larger guards.

Beal has actually played well against Milwaukee in his career, averaging 21.3 points in eight games, and should be able to improve on this mark in four matchups during the upcoming season.

Middleton the Creator

In addition to defense and shooting, Middleton is one of the Bucks best creators on offense.

He had the second highest usage rating on the team last season, and averaged 4.2 assists per game.

Facing a Milwaukee team without him, Washington can put most of its pressure on Giannis and MCW, as the replacement shooting-guard likely won’t control as much of the offense as Middleton did.

The team will have to worry less about overcommitting to closeouts, which have routinely led to open drives to the basket for a midrange jump shot, layup or assist to the big man.

The All-Star Team

Another thing to watch is how this affects Beal’s All-Star opportunities.

Middleton came in at number 39 on SI.com’s Top 100 NBA players of 2017, 19 spots ahead of Beal and was the 7th highest ranked guard in the East.

The competition will be fierce, as only one player from last year’s roster (Pau Gasol) went West, and Gasol only made the roster because of an injury to Jimmy Butler.

Adding to that, the All-Star team last year didn’t have Kyrie Irving because of injury. Still, the loss of Middleton does pull from the potential pool of players available.

Final Outlook

Washington itself was one of the most injury plagued teams in the league last season and there’s still a lot of uncertainty regarding the availability of point guard John Wall.

Adding on the fact that the team has a bunch of new players, and a new head coach, there are plenty of questions still to be answered.

42.5 seems like a pretty reasonable over/under, considering Wall and Beal’s health concerns, and the fact that even with a disappointing season last year, the team won 41 games.

For readers that are the betting type, do keep in mind that the Wizards haven’t made the over the last two seasons.

Additionally, remember that other East teams like Orlando, Boston, New York and Indiana, made big moves this offseason to improve, while every other team seemingly made key moves to at least stay the course.

Waking up from a nightmare that Khris Middleton is our for six months, only to find out its true. pic.twitter.com/6kxcwWCL3X
— Behind the Buck Pass (@BehindTheBucks) September 22, 2016

As this most recent injury news reminds us, nothing is for certain in the NBA, except that LeBron James will be in the Finals. So enjoy every day of basketball, because these eight months will fly by.

Next: Wizards Offseason Failures: The Process of Hiring Brooks

Sorry Bucks fans, and sorry Behind the Buck Pass.

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Washington Wizards: How the Khris Middleton Injury Impacts Washington

By Ryan Eugene | Sep 23, 2016