Milwaukee Bucks newcomer Cole Anthony started the season hot but has cooled down significantly over the last few games. The guard was never going to contribute much defensively, but that was far easier to ignore when he was producing at a high level offensively, especially as a scoring threat. Now, he's not doing either of those things, and it's plaguing the Bucks.
Cole Anthony's scoring struggles are bogging down the Bucks' bench
Over his last seven outings, Anthony is averaging just 6.4 points while shooting 32.3 percent from the floor, including 23.1 percent from downtown. That's a major drop-off compared to the 11.1 points on 51.6 percent from the field, including 33.3 percent from 3-point range, he averaged this season prior to this recent stretch. What happened? Shot diet has played a part, but he's also just missing looks.
The prominent factor that boosted Anthony's early-season performance was his ability to convert on jump shots. Prior to this recent seven-game stretch, the point guard went 23-of-45 (51.1 percent) on such looks. He was scorching hot, giving Milwaukee a needed bucket getter off the bench. Yet, over his last seven, he's at just 14-of-47 (29.8 percent) on jumpers. There's the primary culprit right there.
Yet, Anthony is also struggling when he's not taking jump shots. He's converted on just three of his 11 (27.3 percent) layups over his last seven appearances. In that prior, much better stretch, he was 9-of-17 (52.9 percent) on these shots. It's hard for a player to make much of an impact when they are not converting so close to the hoop consistently.
Simply put, Cole Anthony needs to start hitting some shots. That starts with playing within the flow of the game rather than playing hero ball, a noticeable trend in these past few games. He's taking tough shots with defenders right in his face, as advertised by him shooting 7-of-23 (30.2 percent) on shots categorized as "tight" coverage by NBA.com over his last seven. There are better looks available.
Even with his shooting struggles, Anthony hasn't been flat-out terrible. Over the last seven matchups, he is averaging 5.3 assists per game, the second-highest on the team. Even with the occasional frustrating turnover, Anthony's passing has been a valuable asset to this offense. Now, they just need him to keep that up while also hitting a lot more shots.
Kevin Porter Jr. is out due to injury, so this is Anthony's chance to prove that he belongs in this point guard rotation for good.
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