The Milwaukee Bucks are scrambling to overcome the injury absence of franchise player Giannis Antetokounmpo. Their inability to do so has become the talk of the Eastern Conference, with many formally writing Milwaukee off after previously speculating it couldn't adequately support the two-time MVP.
Ryan Rollins has answered the call early in 2025-26, but even the Bucks' breakout star is learning how difficult it is to excel when the surrounding pieces are struggling to.
Rollins has been sensational, averaging 18.2 points, 6.0 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 2.3 three-point field goals made on .492/.420/.805 shooting. In many ways, he's unexpectedly filled the void left behind by All-NBA point guard Damian Lillard.
Unfortunately, the Bucks have struggled to supplement his talent without Antetokounmpo and are currently in the midst of a five-game losing streak.
Rollins has played well individually, including a 32-point and 14-assist performance in an overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. He's been tasked with attempting at least 20 field goals in three of the five recent losses, however, and shot just 4-of-14 the last time out.
Running the risk of stifling the momentum of one of the most important players on the roster, the Bucks must find a way to take pressure off of Rollins before they can even begin to figure out how to help Antetokounmpo.
Bucks are overburdening Ryan Rollins with Giannis Antetokounmpo out
Rollins is a strong candidate for the Most Improved Player award, if not the outright favorite. He's stepping up on both ends of the floor and showing clear signs of legitimate progress. Unfortunately, even breakout players have a limit to what type of workload they can realistically carry.
According to Eric Nehm of The Athletic, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers acknowledged the unsustainable burden being placed on Rollins' shoulders with Antetokounmpo sidelined.
“I think we’re really struggling scoring,” Rivers said after Monday’s loss. “They’re taking Ryan out of it. We don’t have the ability right now to get into anything else when he doesn’t have it. That’s what I was talking about with the coaches. We gotta figure it out, the coaches do. We gotta take the burden off them and try to make it easier for them.”
Suffice it to say, a resolution is needed if the Bucks hope to right the ship and play at a level that can not only end the losing streak, but adequately support Antetokounmpo and Rollins.
Doc Rivers acknowledges Ryan Rollins is carrying too heavy a burden
Milwaukee has a stellar trio of top players in Antetokounmpo, Rollins, and Myles Turner. It also has a top-tier sharpshooter in AJ Green, a perennial Sixth Man of the Year candidate in Bobby Portis Jr., and a pair of streaky but productive scorers in Kyle Kuzma and Gary Trent Jr.
With a seven-man rotation of productive players, Milwaukee should be able to generate consistent offense. Context, however, reveals an alternate reality.
Without Antetokounmpo on the court, Rollins is the only player in the rotation who's consistently creating offense for himself and others. That's created an impossible task for him to not only put up points at a team-leading pace, but ensure everyone around him gets efficient looks at the basket.
Until the Bucks find a resolution to that issue, they won't avoid the steady descent into mediocrity that they're unfortunately struggling to escape.
Furthermore, failing to help Rollins would mean overburdening a player who's job is to take pressure off of Antetkounmpo. If the Bucks find a way to do so, however, then Antetokounmpo can return to a rotation with far more depth than even he'd anticipated.
It's unclear if there's a realistic path toward achieving that goal, but the Bucks desperately need to find a way to take pressure off of Rollins if they hope to have any chance at helping Antetokounmpo.