While many expected a career year, Ryan Rollins has been stuck in the mud to open the new season. The Milwaukee Bucks need a solution, and perhaps Kasparas Jakucionis is it. Last season, the duo of Kevin Porter Jr. and Ryan Rollins worked well because the former's passing helped set up Rollins well. Jakucionis, the roster's lone pure point guard, could play that same role if the Bucks utilized him in it.
Rollins thrived next to a passing guard
Porter spent a good chunk of last season injured, but when he did play, it was oftentimes alongside Rollins, and the two thrived. Porter passed the ball to Rollins 343 times last season, the most among any teammate. Rollins was excellent off those passes, shooting 44.9 percent from the floor, including 42.6 percent from downtown. That table-setting helped Rollins reach new heights.
With Porter out of the picture and Rollins starting alongside Tyler Herro instead, he hasn't had that typical passing guard next to him. The stats reflect it. Rollins is averaging just 11.2 points while hitting 34.2 percent of his shots, including 27.3 percent from deep. Not all of that is due to Porter's absence, but it doesn't help. It might be time for Taylor Jenkins to mix things up and involve Jakucionis.
Bucks need more Rollins-Jakucionis
Despite being sixth in minutes, Jakucionis has thrown the second-most passes on the team. He has always been an exceptional passer, and it's truly coming to light with a more prominent role with the Milwaukee Bucks. The more he plays, the clearer it gets that he needs more time to set the floor for his teammates and help them thrive.
No, Jenkins should not bench Herro for Jakucionis. Keep the latter in the second unit, a place where he continues to shine. Yet, that doesn't mean he can't find more time when Rollins and Jakucionis can be on the floor together. They have shared the floor for just 25 minutes this season—this pairing has the best net rating among Milwaukee's two-man lineups to log at least that many minutes.
Jakucionis could help set up Rollins incredibly well. So far, he's only thrown eight passes to the guard in their limited time together. He's already helping fuel career seasons for Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kel'el Ware, who are shooting 53.8 percent and 46.7 percent off passes from him this season, respectively. That type of floor general could help reawaken the Rollins that dominated last year.
The Bucks won't panic, and rightfully so. Chemistry is still being built. However, with Rollins struggling this mightily, tweaking the nightly rotation to put him next to Jakucionis more often couldn't hurt.
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