Various injuries and a nasty virus spreading throughout the Milwaukee Bucks' locker room lately have forced Doc Rivers to shake up his rotations mightily.
Among the changes involved reintegrating Ryan Rollins back into the rotation after a shoulder injury initially put his breakout season on pause. The breakout is back on track over these past few games, as Rollins keeps showing exactly why he needs to be in the rotation on a nightly basis. Although the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Chicago Bulls in their last game, Rollins was certainly a bright spot.
Ryan Rollins can clearly help the Milwaukee Bucks
Returning to the bench after starting in Damian Lillard's place over the past few games, Rollins looked like a Bucks player who could be a key reserve.
Scoring-wise, he didn't steal the show, going 3-of-6 from the floor for seven points, but he showed off his confidence by attacking the hoop and letting it fly from deep. That type of scoring off the bench is crucial, especially when Taurean Prince, AJ Green and Gary Trent Jr. all all stuck in a slump; they shot a combined 2-of-10 from 3-point range.
It helped that he was also aggressive on the glass, pulling down seven boards, tied for second on the team against Chicago.
The defensive end is where Rollins is truly making his money lately. In this game, not only did he play some stout individual defense, but he also tallied two steals and two blocks to make his impact felt in the scorebooks. It's no secret that the Milwaukee Bucks need as many versatile and switchable defenders as they can get their hands on, and Rollins is proving to be just that.
Rollins is quickly rising up the board on Milwaukee's most trustworthy young players. While starting two-guard Andre Jackson Jr. is an excellent defender, he does not pack the offensive punch Rollins does. While AJ Green is nice defensively and can shoot it like few others on this team can, there's an argument to be made that Rollins is the more complete all-around player.
There's no reason for Ryan Rollins to lose his place in the rotation moving forward, no matter who is in and out of the lineup. They need his energy on both sides of the basketball. Even with the banged-up shoulder, Rollins is playing with intensity every single time he touches the court. If he keeps it up, the Milwaukee Bucks just might hand him a new contract. Yet, they need to see more before then.
The Bucks' 116-111 loss to the Bulls was certainly frustrating, and all the team can do is hope that Giannis Antetokounmpo overcomes the recent illness that is plaguing him to get this team healthy. With everyone healthy and the team getting minutes like this from Ryan Rollins, this second unit has the chops to be special.
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