Just 13 games into his Milwaukee Bucks tenure, things have already been hectic for Gary Trent Jr.
The guard went from starting at shooting guard to being demoted to the second unit to sitting out two games due to injury to returning to the bench. His production hasn't been up to par, especially with many considering him the biggest steal of NBA Free Agency when he was signed.
In his 11 appearances this season, Trent is averaging 7.2 points while shooting 32.9 percent from the floor and a vile 27.5 percent from deep. For someone who's supposed to be a lethal offensive threat, he's struggled to make his mark so far in whatever role Doc Rivers has given him.
Yet, these past two games signal that Gary Trent Jr. could at least be on the right track, and it started with a three-minute stretch in Milwaukee's game against Detroit.
Gary Trent Jr. came to life in Milwaukee's win over Detroit
With 6:15 left in the third quarter, Trent checked back into the game. At that point, the Bucks trailed by 12 points, and it became 13 after Jalen Duren sunk a free throw. During the next three minutes, Trent came to life, scoring eight points on a pair of 3-pointers and a tough floater inside. Trent's floater cut the deficit to four, and by the end of the quarter, the Milwaukee Bucks were up.
The eight points he scored in this stretch were just one less than he had scored in his previous four games combined.
When a player is struggling as much as Trent had been, sometimes they simply need to see the ball go through the hoop once or twice to get things going. This three-minute stretch saw that come to fruition, and it might have done wonders for his confidence. In addition to a strong game against the Pistons, Trent also followed that up with a nice outing against Charlotte.
Two games is undoubtedly a small sample size, but it's 13 games into the season; everything will be a small sample size.
There's simply no denying that Trent has looked much better in matchups against the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets, averaging 10.5 points per matchup while shooting 50 percent from the floor and an improved 45.5 percent from deep. He's even upped his intensity on the defensive side of the ball, averaging 2.5 steals in this mini-stretch.
If this hot streak continues, one could look back on a stretch in the Pistons matchup as a possible turning point.
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