It's time to rip off the Band-Aid. Cole Anthony is floundering. The Milwaukee Bucks need to start exploring other options for point guard minutes, and last season's successful experiment with Delon Wright and Ryan Rollins offers a starting point. With Anthony playing the part of a struggling veteran, Mark Sears deserves another look, just like Rollins did when he stole Wright's spot.
It's not a guaranteed solution, but it's worth a shot.
Give the kid a chance to show what he is made of
Frankly, it can't get much worse. Every game, Anthony seems to commit multiple ghastly giveaways. In just 14 minutes against the Pistons, he turned it over five times. The issue is getting worse, not better.
The same goes for his production as a scorer, something the Bucks badly need at point guard with Kevin Porter Jr. still sidelined. Rollins can't do it all. Unfortunately, Anthony hasn't been much help.
In his last seven games, he has scored more than five points once. In that span, he is shooting below 30 percent from the field. He has more turnovers (21) than made field goals (14). Overall, this season, his 46 percent true shooting mark would be a career low.
At this point, the Bucks have little to lose by giving Sears a chance. That doesn't mean taking over Anthony's full share of playing time. Rather, Doc Rivers should simply try him out in some non-garbage time scenarios, incorporating him into the rotation to limit the team's reliance on Anthony.
Sears has earned an opportunity. Making the most of the table scraps he's been thrown, he's scored 19 points in 23 total minutes. He's gone 3-of-6 from long range. It's hard to make much of such a tiny sample, but Sears has flashed promise as a shot creator.
It's not like this is an automatic fix or even a high-probability solution, but if last season told the Bucks anything, giving the young guy an extra look can pay off.
While Anthony has more upside and more juice in his legs, his woes are eerily similar to Wright's last season. The latter began as the Bucks' default backup point guard, a veteran free agent signing designed to provide cheap stability. Long story short, the investment backfired.
Before being flipped to the Knicks at the trade deadline, Wright was shooting 27 percent from the field and averaging 3.1 points per game. By the New Year, the Bucks had replaced him with Rollins, a little-known youngster on a two-way contract. Even in a limited role, Rollins proved to be a major upgrade. For one thing, he knocked down his shots.
Anthony hasn't been nearly as bad as Wright - except for the turnovers - but lately he has been borderline unplayable. It's also true that whereas Wright was clearly in his twilight, Anthony arrived in Milwaukee with much higher expectations. That factor contributes to fans' justified frustration with his performance. After some early excitement, he hasn't been a positive contributor.
Rivers already showed a willingness to try something new by rolling out Andre Jackson Jr. in Anthony's place against Detroit. Most nights, however, Jackson isn't likely to match those 29 minutes of action. He has his own issues with ball security and foul trouble. At least while Porter remains out, there should be an opening for second or third-option Sears minutes. Rather than go down with a sinking ship, the Bucks should throw him some rope.