Kevin Porter Jr. continues giving Bucks necessary crutch to lean on

After a bad loss to the Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said the quiet part out loud about his team's ball movement. Kevin Porter Jr. was the only one creating much of anything on offense.

"I mean, when you look at our assist column, you see all those ones. That tells you all you need to know, right? Scoot had 10 assists and then everyone else had 1-1-1-1."

That's not the positive context fans would like, but win or lose, it also reflects just how important Porter has been. In many games lately, no one else has been able to facilitate efficiently. Even Ryan Rollins has been turnover-prone. Porter keeps giving the Bucks a crutch to lean on, and it's time to give him his due. 

The offense has appealed to Porter's playmaking lately more than ever

In the month of February, Porter is averaging 8.4 assists per game versus only 2.4 turnovers, which he has canceled out with 2.4 steals. That's to go with 20.7 points per game on 51.9 percent shooting. In field goal percentage, Porter leads all players averaging at least 20 points and eight dimes per February contest. 

In the game against Toronto, the Bucks had only 18 assists total and committed 17 turnovers. Outside of Porter's playmaking, the offense lapsed into hero ball. After Porter, Jericho Sims came in second in assists with two. Not good. 

It was an uncharacteristically inefficient day for Rollins, who shot 6-for-17 and turned it over five times. Recently, Porter has flipped the script by outdoing him in assist-to-turnover ratio. Rollins is still contributing five dimes per game this month, but he is also averaging four turnovers. Over the two prior months, that figure was below two. 

Really, Porter has reined in the giveaways since a reckless December. Last month, he cut them down to 2.9 per night. Now that he's shooting better, too, he's back to looking like the engine of the offense. 

That's likely to continue as long as Giannis Antetokounmpo remains sidelined. Even afterward, Porter profiles as the team's second-leading creator. In the meantime, Cam Thomas has eased the scoring burden off the bench, but he isn't much of a facilitator, though the opportunity to improve his playmaking skills is there for the taking if he wants it. 

Right now, the Bucks are leaning hard on Porter, who hasn't dished out fewer than seven dimes in his last eight games, good enough to lead the team each time. That's basically what he's been doing all season. His 7.7 nightly assists easily pace Milwaukee passers; he is second in scoring at 17.7 points per contest. 

Is it any surprise that Porter's improved play has helped drive Milwaukee's recent winning ways? Even after Sunday's loss, the Bucks have won six of eight and are knocking on the door of the Play-In. Obviously, they would love for Giannis to return and to have more diverse options, but until further notice, Porter will have the conductor's wand in hand.