It finally happened. The Bucks moved off Cole Anthony, pivoted to a higher-upside scoring bet in Cam Thomas, and within two games the difference already feels obvious.
Two games into the Cam Thomas era (if you can call it that, but one can hope), it's looking like genius roster management. The thirty-four point explosion, including a buzzer-beater against the Orlando Magic should erase any doubts about whether Thomas can actually contribute to a winning team. He has done so and hopefully will continue to do so.
It's not empty calories, either. We're seeing real shot-making, real gravity, real pressure on a defense that suddenly has to account for someone other than Giannis.
Cam Thomas is vindicating the Bucks for moving on from Cole Anthony
It should be said, though: fans of the Bucks should remember Cole Anthony fondly for his time with the team. As the primary spark plug off the bench, he put up an incredibly decent 6.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game for the Bucks.
But even just two games in, the upgrade in upside is undeniable. Anthony's ceiling was maybe a solid sixth man who could run an offense for short stretches. Thomas' ceiling is legitimate Sixth Man of the Year production if he finds the right situation. Milwaukee might've just provided that situation.
He’s a pure scorer in the most modern sense. On the offensive end, he has it all. Three-level shot creation. Deep pull-up range. The kind of confidence that doesn’t flicker after a miss. Against real competition, he’s already shown he can swing a quarter by himself. That matters on a team that has leaned far too heavily on Giannis to manufacture every tough bucket late in games.
There’s risk here. Thomas has to buy into team defense and decision-making to scale in playoff settings. The concerns surrounding the former are very real: according to Cleaning the Glass, the Brooklyn Nets gave up +6.7 more points per 100 possessions whenever Thomas stepped on the floor. He was in the 11th percentile in that statistic. In short, he is one of the worst defenders in the league.
But if you’re Milwaukee, offensive upside is the play. The Nets also put up +4.7 more points per 100 with Thomas around, good for the 84th percentile, per CtG.
Early returns don’t guarantee long-term success. But when your “upgrade” immediately drops 34 and looks like the cleanest perimeter scorer on the roster outside of your superstar, it’s fair to say the front office saw something. And so far, they look right.
So this is where we are now. It had its moments, but the Cole Anthony experiment is over. The Cam Thomas era just started with a thirty-four point statement. That's an upgrade Milwaukee's already being vindicated for making.
One game is an outlier. Two is a pattern. Time will tell if this is really who he is. Here's hoping the Bucks finally got a good one.
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