Ryan Rollins has given Doc Rivers no choice. No ifs, ands, or buts, he has to start. If Rollins is the Milwaukee Bucks' starting point guard, that means Kevin Porter Jr. will come off the bench whenever he returns from injury, right? That would seem to be the default answer, but nothing is set in stone. Specifically, Gary Trent Jr. should be on high alert.
Reminiscent of last season, he is off to an up-and-down start. At times, Trent has looked vulnerable defensively. If Trent doesn't right the ship, he, not Porter, could be the odd man out of the starting five.
Trent could be playing to keep his job over the next few weeks
Trent bounced back against the Kings, going 5-for-7 from the field, including 4-for-6 on threes. That boosted his 3-point percentage to 38.3 percent on the season. It would be easy to look at his overall stats and question why Rivers would consider removing him from the starting lineup.
The main issue is consistency. Before Saturday, Trent was five for his last 19 from distance and 10-for-32 overall. Those games, against the Cavaliers, Knicks, and Warriors, just happened to have higher stakes than the others. Particularly with Giannis Antetokounmpo out versus Golden State, the Bucks could have used a big game from Trent. Instead, Rollins was the one to step up.
Okay, big deal. Shooters go through hot-and-cold spells. Some are streakier than others. It's just part of the gig.
The problem is that inconsistent shooting makes it harder to compensate for Trent's lack of size and rebounding. He is off to a career-worst start in defensive rating, per StatMuse. While those numbers come with a grain of salt - at odds with the eye test, on-off rating has never favored his defense - the metric dinged him more severely early on this season. If that wasn't enough, the Bucks grade out much better offensively as well with Trent off the floor.
The complete picture isn't pretty: he has a -17.3 offensive rating and is +11.9 on the other end.
It isn't fair to put all the blame on Trent. He's done what he can. He came up with four steals against the Warriors. He is physical for his size. Size, though, is Trent's fundamental drawback. The Bucks haven't always put him in a position to succeed by asking him to defend larger defenders. That much was obvious in the Raptors game when Toronto's slew of huge wings really pushed him around.
Would subbing in Porter solve the issue? Not on the surface, as he and Trent have a similar build. But Porter, at least, has the rating stats to back up the tenacity he has shown in Milwaukee. He also has the hops to crash the boards and is more athletic. He is a touch quicker on his feet.
That's just considering defense. Porter's all-around offensive upside gives the Bucks a more versatile attack. Pairing him with Rollins could take pressure off the youngster as teams start to target him in their game plans. There isn't much to judge Porter by this season, but if anything can be gleaned from nine minutes, he certainly looked dangerous.
What's more, bringing both Porter and Anthony off the bench risks redundancy since both operate best with the ball in their hands. Anthony has shown he can run the offense. The Bucks have a good thing going bringing him off the bench as a primary facilitator. If that continues, why disrupt it?
This isn't to turn heel on Trent or throw him under the bus. But if he isn't going to be a reliable shooter, he could be better utilized as a reserve. That way, the Milwaukee Bucks have more flexibility to ride his hot hand and call on others when Trent is cold.
With Porter out several more weeks, Trent has time to find his groove. If he doesn't, though, don't count out an unexpected switch in Milwaukee's starting five.