One of the Milwaukee Bucks' problems in recent seasons has been not having role players pick up the slack if the stars are having an off night. Well, they sure have that luxury now with the performances Gary Trent Jr. has put together in the last month.
It wasn't pretty, but the Bucks managed to come out on the right side of the scoreline in Brooklyn on Sunday night. Giannis Antetokounmpo stepped up with a 34-point performance, but Damian Lillard had some offensive struggles, and Khris Middleton is still trying to find his flow after only just returning to the court.
Picking up Trent on a minimum contract was one of the steals of the offseason, and it feels like more and more of a bargain as every game passes by.
Gary Trent Jr.'s surge is a huge luxury for the Milwaukee Bucks
The offseason pickup struggled in the starting lineup early, as did many Bucks, but he has found his full flow when coming off the bench. The pairing with AJ Green is a real problem for opposing teams due to the duo's ability to hit shots. In Brooklyn, Trent finished with 20 points on 6-of-10 (60 percent) shooting, hitting 3-of-7 (42.9 percent) from deep and making all five of his free throws.
With that sort of productivity off the bench and ability to pick up the slack when the starters aren't hitting shots, it is nothing but a bonus for the Bucks.
Since being taken out of the starting lineup on November 7, Trent is averaging 10.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, an assist and a steal on ridiculous shooting splits of .485/.493/.889. He has found his place in the rotation, and being that sparkplug gives him much more freedom in terms of his shot diet. We know he can score at all levels and can create for himself, but being in the starting lineup perhaps hindered that slightly, as he was looking mostly at catch-and-shoot attempts.
Moving forward, it will be interesting to monitor how Doc Rivers alters the rotations with Middleton back in the mix. For now, it looks like it can work with a close loss to the Boston Celtics on Friday and a win over Brooklyn on Sunday (albeit not pretty).
Trent will still play a huge part for this team, but the Milwaukee Bucks now have a number of options to use, and when certain players have a tough night, Rivers can at least look to his bench and have different types of players to impact the game. Having Trent on a minimum deal is the biggest luxury of all the role players.
Defensively, he has also held his own, which is what the Bucks were crying out for this offseason. He is holding opponents to 46.7 percent shooting from the field. That might not be anything spectacular, but it puts him very much in the middle of the pack with other Bucks players.
Again, coming off the bench might be a better role for him, as Andre Jackson Jr. starting means he takes the tougher defensive backcourt assignment and frees up Damian Lillard.
The pickup of Gary Trent Jr. has been perfect for the Milwaukee Bucks and they are lucky to have him on such a good deal.
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