The Milwaukee Bucks had Kevin Porter Jr. running the point for all of nine minutes this season before the injuries came knocking. Ryan Rollins has taken flight in his absence, but the lack of playmaking behind him is starting to show. Without Porter, the Bucks have precious little shot creation to keep the offense humming, particularly when Giannis Antetokounmpo takes a seat or sits out.
Although they managed to get by for a while, it's now becoming a problem.
Bucks in desperate need of another offensive engine
With Giannis missing, Wednesday's loss to the Hornets offered an extreme example. Rollins once again proved his mettle with 25 points and six assists, but Cole Anthony had another poor showing off the bench, and no one else did a whole lot of shot-creating.
While that was an especially ugly instance, having Giannis on the floor isn't always enough as it is. Even playing at an MVP level, he can only do so much. Elsewhere on the roster, Rollins is off to a fantastic start, but asking him to effectively take over Damian Lillard's role as a co-star is, for obvious reasons, not realistic.
Too often, the Milwaukee Bucks' system devolves to giving Giannis the ball and getting out of the way, asking him to take on three defenders at once. Sometimes it works, sometimes not, but it isn't how this team is meant to play. The ball needs to keep moving.
Clunky offense and an undesirable amount of iso ball are a direct result of having limited playmakers available. Notably, the Bucks rank 16th in the NBA with 6.8 isolation plays per game. That style of play will wear Giannis out over the course of the season. And when Giannis isn't the one isolating, the Bucks don't have the personnel to reliably get good looks.
It hurts, too, that Anthony has been inconsistent since early this season. In November, he has scored in double figures in four games and scored four or fewer points in three others. After going 2-for-12 against Charlotte, Anthony is shooting just 38 percent from the field this month. He's still getting assists (4.3 per game), but the turnovers are creeping up, and his vulnerability on defense caps his minutes.
That isn't the case with Porter, allowing the Bucks to benefit even more from his dynamic contributions on the other end of the floor.
Although Rollins may have claimed the starting job for good, Porter might still be the Bucks' best shot creator aside from Giannis. After arriving at the trade deadline last year, he injected the offense with per-36 averages of 21.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 6.7 assists. Those numbers are actually better than what Rollins is doing per 36 minutes this season.
Named the starter in training camp, Porter made a quick impression in his brief action this season, pouring in 10 points and two assists before leaving in the first quarter of the season opener. Whatever his role when he comes back - he could still start alongside Rollins - he is, at least, another high-energy option who can take some pressure off the shoulders of his younger, less experienced teammate.
Given an initial timetable of at least four weeks, hopefully Porter returns from his right meniscus surgery sooner rather than later. The longer he remains out, the more the Bucks will feel his absence.