Back in July, the Milwaukee Bucks pounced on Cole Anthony before anyone knew the Grizzlies had officially let him go as part of a buyout agreement. That clever move is already paying off, as Anthony looks like just the player the Bucks hoped they'd found in the spunky bucket-getter.
Anthony brings the Bucks the scoring spark they craved
Memphis acquired Anthony in a trade with Orlando for Desmond Bane, tried to trade him in turn, and then bought him out when they couldn't. While the two sides seemed headed for a buyout, the Bucks' signing still came somewhat out of the blue. Anthony wasn't even a publicly known free agent at the time. Bigger names remained available - Malcolm Brogdon, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook - but the Bucks knew what they wanted.
They grabbed him before anyone else had a chance, securing a backup point guard with high energy and scoring upside.
Friday night in Toronto, they got a chance to reap what their stealthy decision-making sowed. In a 122-116 road win over Toronto, Anthony supplied 23 points and seven assists off the bench, pinwheeling into the paint and flipping it in off the glass over larger defenders. He turned it over just once. While he struggled oddly at the free-throw line (3-of-7), he showed a knack for drawing contact to get there, especially when the Milwaukee Bucks got into the bonus.
Leading the bench in box-score plus-minus, Anthony took control of the offense with Giannis Antetokounmpo on the bench and Kevin Porter Jr. injured. Even playing alongside Giannis, Anthony taking over for a possession or two allowed his teammate to conserve energy in a closely contested game in which Antetokounmpo played 38 minutes.
Critically, after fouls limited Anthony's minutes against the Wizards, he also played more disciplined defense and still came up with a pair of steals. He picked a good time to get it together. In a much tighter affair versus the Raptors, the Bucks couldn't afford to take their foot off the gas pedal. Anthony gave them fuel.
It was uncanny the number of times he weaseled his way to the basket to scoop it in over lengthy Raptors defenders half a foot taller. On one occasion, Anthony left 7-foot Jakob Poeltl hopelessly contesting from behind as he laid the ball up and in. Those buckets often came at key moments to preserve the Bucks' tenuous one-possession lead and keep the Raptors from gaining momentum in front of their home crowd.
In just the fourth quarter, Anthony scored nine points and dished out three assists. The 6-foot-2 guard was exactly the kind of floor general Doc Rivers would love to have for nights like these, where the Bucks are compromised by injury and Giannis is forced to play major minutes. His minutes will likely vary on a night-to-night basis, but no doubt the Bucks will call in another Cole Anthony heater before too long.