Bucks' shooting games in practice translating to three-point success

DETROIT - Khris Middleton's slump-busting 43-point outburst Wednesday night in Charlotte, an outing that included making 5 of 11 three-pointers, was something his Milwaukee Bucks coaches and teammates knew was coming.

Some of them, including veteran Jason Terry, were not surprised to see it happen Wednesday. That's because Middleton entered the game as the reigning champion of the team's regular, informal three-point shootout competition at the end of practices and shootarounds.

In fact, Middleton had won each of the past three.

“Khris is the hot man right now, you can tell," Terry said. "Played like it tonight.”

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Shooting games are a common across the NBA. The Bucks' version is an offshoot of the standard "Around the World" game where players need to make three-pointers from seven different spots along the arc.

Everyone starts in the same corner taking turns catching passes from assistant coach Eric Hughes and shooting until they miss. Make two in a row and you get to move on. Miss and the next player gets his turn while you stay put.

Once a player makes it to the opposite corner he needs to make four consecutive three-pointers before he can start moving back toward the starting point where ultimately the winner needs to finish with 4 three-pointers from that corner.

The game is not compulsory, but Middleton, Terry, Tony Snell and coach Jason Kidd are all regulars. During training camp, Brandon Rush and Gerald Green frequently joined in, with Green winning a couple times. Malcolm Brogdon and Giannis Antetokounmpo have joined for some but were still figuring out the rules during the first week of the season.

Last season, former Bucks sharpshooter Steve Novak introduced a WWE-style belt that went to the winner. That belt is gone — cash and bragging rights are motivation enough — but the competition has remained intense. There's trash talking, gamesmanship in the form of yelling or throwing up a hand while a player is shooting and some fist pumps when another player — especially the leader — throws up a brick.

The jabbering is part of a healthy, fun competition. At the end of the day, everyone is pushing toward the same goal of turning practice battles into success on the court.

While Middleton has been racking up the wins of late, it was Snell who dominated the early competitions during camp, earning the nickname, "Champ." During one game, Snell got hot late and make four straight triples to bring him to the last corner.

Kidd and the other competitors didn't even wait for Snell to begin shooting the four corner threes he needed to win, walking away knowing what was about to happen.

As expected, "Champ" lived up to his nickname and drained all four shots.

“I joke around like he’s probably taking most of my check right now," Middleton said at the time. "It’s good, though, to have a shooter like that. It gives him confidence, it gives us confidence in him for games knowing he’s going to knock down the shot. If not, I’m going to take my money back.”

Middleton isn't getting his money back anytime soon. With a 5 of 6 performance Wednesday night, Snell has opened the season as the team's best three-point shooter. He's knocked down 17 of 33 triples in the opening eight games (51.5%), matching Mirza Teletovic in terms of most three-pointers on the team, but making them in four fewer attempts.

Buoyed by a franchise record 19 three-pointers Wednesday — on a team-record-tying 36 attempts — the Bucks have established themselves as one of the best three-point shooting teams in the NBA early in the season. Heading into Thursday's games, the Bucks ranked third in three-point percentage (39.6%), ninth in threes made per game (10.8) and 16th in attempts per game (27.1).

Last season, Milwaukee shot 37% from three-point range, good for 10th in the league. The Bucks made the largest jump in the league in terms of attempting threes, putting up 52.4% more than they did in 2015-'16, but still only ranked 24th in attempts as the league overall has skewed more toward long-range shooting.

"When you look at the top teams they're shooting the three at a very high rate and making them," Kidd said. "Hopefully, we can be top 15. If we can do that, we'll be fine."

With an offense based on Antetokounmpo's unique ability to drive to the basket and pull opposing players into his orbit, having a stable of shooters who can knock down open three-pointers is a necessary element of Milwaukee's offense. That's what kept the Bucks in Wednesday's game against the Hornets.

When Antetokounmpo, who carried the offense with 33.7 points per game in the first seven contests, couldn't consistently get his shot to fall, his teammates stepped up.

Seven different players connected on three-pointers, including four reserves — Teletovic, Thon Maker, Matthew Dellavedova and DeAndre Liggins — collectively going 7 of 12 from long range.

"In games like this that my shots are not falling when everybody else is making shots it’s good for the team," Antetokounmpo said. "This way everybody gets confidence and it helps moving forward."

Do the shooting competitions at practice help? Terry would say so, especially with Middleton riding his hot hand vs. the Hornets.

Middleton, though, thinks Terry might have ulterior motives, especially considering his shooting-game win streak halted a two-game run by Terry.

"He’s just saying that because we’re not playing for money (right now)," Middleton said. "He’s trying to get my money again.”