After an offseason of changes, it was clear that the Milwaukee Bucks would have more depth than they've had in recent seasons. Well, that depth is about to be tested already after Kevin Porter Jr. went down in game one with a sprained ankle. The severity of the injury is still unknown, but there is a decent chance he will miss time. Everyone must take on more responsibility moving forward.
Porter injury could force Bucks to think rotation early
Many picked Kevin Porter Jr. to cement himself as Milwaukee's second leading scorer behind Giannis Antetokounmpo this year, and he was well on his way in game one before exiting. With that in mind, it will be up to everyone on the roster to help pick up the slack in his absence. Considering seven Bucks had double-digit points, and two had nine, in the opener, it's clear that this group can do that.
The two who will face the most pressure are Ryan Rollins and Cole Anthony, given that they are the two fellow point guards who will see increased minutes.
Rollins is almost guaranteed to start if Porter misses action, and he can give this team a jolt on both ends of the court. He didn't shoot the ball particularly well in game one, going 2-of-9, but he still had an impactful night. What stood out mostly was the defense, as he flat-out hounded his matchups and finished with six deflections on the night. His next goal is getting a grip on the shooting.
While Rollins struggled to hit shots, Anthony did not. He finished with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor. That paired well with his five assists in just 12 minutes. Yet, he struggled to stay afloat defensively, picking up five fouls in his limited minutes. If the undersized guard continues to get caught in foul trouble, it will be hard to play him big minutes in Porter's absence.
Milwaukee also has plenty of non point guards who can step up more. Kyle Kuzma showed off his passing chops in the opener. Gary Trent Jr. can get on a heater in a hurry. He had a poor game in the opener, but Bobby Portis can get the crowd on its feet in a second. Rather than stars, this is a roster built around depth and getting contributions from everyone. The test of that begins.
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