Picked by many to be the Milwaukee Bucks' best player this season, Ryan Rollins has gotten off to a slow start. It's hurt the team, as they are now 0-3, despite there being plenty of positives on display in the early days of the Taylor Jenkins era. If Rollins can get going, suddenly, the Bucks just might make some noise and right the ship.
Rollins emerging would be huge boost
Despite losing all three of their games, the Milwaukee Bucks have largely kept things close through all of them. Against Washington, their largest deficit was 13, and it came near the end. Chicago only led by as many as eight in game two. The 76ers went up 16 in the fourth quarter before winning by 11. The Bucks aren't getting blown off the floor, even with Rollins not contributing consistently.
That's a good sign regarding what they could be when he does get going.
In the first three games, Rollins has averaged 11.7 points while shooting 35.8 percent from the floor, including 27.8 percent from deep. Last season, for reference, he averaged 17.8 points while hitting a blistering 47.2 percent of his shots, including 40.6 percent from deep. If he can get back to that level or even exceed it, the Milwaukee Bucks could become more dangerous.
In addition to having 20-point scorers in Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis and Kel'el Ware look like standouts. Rollins, another capable 20-point per showing scorer and near-elite defender, could raise Milwaukee's ceiling significantly along that group if he plays up to par. This will likely take some time, but it feels like a volcano that is bound to erupt at some point.
Bucks are still in the early days of new era
No one expected this new group to gel immediately. While the players acquired from Miami over the summer have been stellar, Rollins is clearly still adapting. After essentially having full control of the offense last season as Giannis Antetokounmpo missed significant time, he's getting used to playing alongside other ball-dominant pieces like Herro and Jaquez.
It all starts with seeing the ball go in the hoop, especially courtesy of his jumper. In the three games, Rollins is shooting just 8-of-26 (30.8 percent) on his jumpers. As he showed last season, he's much better than that. It's only a matter of time before he starts hitting them with regularity, and it can be the boost the Milwaukee Bucks need early in the season.
Once one of their best players gets going, these close games that the Milwaukee Bucks are losing may start to go the other way.
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