There was plenty of internal excitement when the Milwaukee Bucks announced that they were signing Amir Coffey to a standard deal. The forward had all of the tools to help this team, but early on, he has failed to make much of an impact at all. His production has been so minimal that it might be time for the Bucks to dig Andre Jackson Jr. up from the depths of the bench to see what he can offer.
Bucks may need to mix up the rotation
Coffey's performance against the Charlotte Hornets, a frustrating game that the Bucks lost without Giannis Antetokounmpo, tells the whole story. In 11 and a half minutes, he had two points, a rebound, and a foul. It feels as if every single game is the same old story; Coffey checks in, maybe makes a nice play, and then vanishes for the rest of the night.
The numbers back it up, as he was averaging 1.5 points and 1.2 rebounds per matchup this season entering Wednesday's game. That's simply not good enough for someone the team had such high hopes for, especially with the Milwaukee Bucks needing help at the small forward spot following the announcement that Taurean Prince would be out indefinitely.
With Coffey being pedestrian most nights, it might be time for Doc Rivers to get the dust off of Andre Jackson Jr., who has been glued to the bench this season. While Jackson likely won't do much to add offense, he can certainly make more of an impact in other regards. Last year, he was one of the best defenders on the team, and his rebounding always helped. The Bucks need both of those things.
When Jackson is out there, fans know. During mop-up duty against the Hornets, Jackson made one of the few highlights of the night with a behind-the-back dish. Whether he's passing, playing defense, shooting, diving on loose balls, or whatever else, Jackson's presence is always felt. The Bucks, who dropped to 7-5 on the season, could use that type of spark right about now.
Even with his stout defense, Jackson's lack of aggression offensively saw him lose his spot last year. If he were to reclaim his spot in the rotation, he would have to avoid falling back into that trap. It's not like Coffey is lighting it up, especially from three, as he's just 1-of-7 in 11 games. If the Bucks aren't getting anything from Coffey, they might as well see what Jackson has to offer.
Just like last season, promoting him could give the streaky Milwaukee Bucks a needed spark.
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