Ryan Rollins was the Bucks' second-best player in a key victory against the Knicks on Tuesday night. He flashed his potential to be a secondary star supporting Giannis Antetokounmpo and provided another dominant scoring threat that the Bucks desperately needed. He finished with a career-high 25 points in just 26 minutes of action to help lead the Bucks over an Eastern Conference favorite.
Bucks fans knew what Rollins was capable of doing. Now, the rest of the world just saw it during a nationally televised game. He's capable of having big games and playing a huge role for the Bucks.
Rollins is a two-way star in the making
Rollins had a terrific, well-rounded performance, adding four assists and four steals to his stat line. His ability to get his own buckets or create for teammates in the flow of the offense makes him a perfect fit for the team. The Bucks are leaning into continuous ball movement to generate good shots on offense, and Rollins' non-ball-dominant style fits in beautifully.
As part of his career-best scoring night, Rollins got his baskets in many different ways. He had plenty of shots as the beneficiary of the Bucks' unselfish team passing, but also took matters into his own hands when necessary. He had self-created baskets as a pick-and-roll initiator, including a pull-up three and drives all the way to the rim. Rollins' emerging capabilities as a self-reliant scorer can help relieve some of Giannis' burden and give the Bucks different options against tough defenses.
Rollins was also great at creating open looks for teammates. Nearly all of his assists were kickouts for open threes, which works great with all the shooting on the Bucks roster. As he develops this skill further, Rollins can prove himself as the Bucks' point guard of the future and play the part of a sufficient costar for Giannis.
And of course, Rollins' dominant performance would not be complete without his defense. He earned his spot on this team in the first place with tenacious defensive effort, and continues to keep up that mindset even as a starter. His four steals in this game were important to slowing down the Knicks' offense in key moments and creating fastbreak opportunities for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Rollins was even able to make life hard for Knicks All-NBA guard Jalen Brunson in the clutch stretch of the game. Although Brunson had a great overall performance with 36 points, his scoring worsened as the game went along. He had only six of those in the fourth quarter, and Rollins also forced him into two turnovers in the closing frame.
Today's NBA is dominated by two-way players. As last year's playoff showed us, it is very important for role players to have strengths on both ends of the court. The Bucks already have a reliable superstar in Giannis, but establishing another star next to him will be necessary to build a true contender. Ryan Rollins has shown great potential so far and could grow into that role as the season progresses.