The Milwaukee Bucks have been on the struggle bus of late, having lost seven games in a row before finally getting back in the win column on Saturday night with a victory over the lowly Brooklyn Nets. Giannis Antetokounmpo is back after a brief injury absence, and the hope is that Milwaukee will be able to start stacking some wins with its best player back on the floor.
The most surprising (in a good way) player for the Bucks this year has been young guard Ryan Rollins, who has quickly raced to the forefront of the Most Improved Player discussion.
After the Nets game, Antetokounmpo had some strong praise for the guard.
“I’ve been in the NBA 13 years. I’ve had 200-300 teammates. A jump for a guy that came two years ago to a two-way contract, non-guaranteed, a guaranteed deal, to the player he is today. I don’t think I’ve seen a jump like that in my career,” said Antetokounmpo, per Michael Scotto of Hoopshype on X, formerly Twitter.
Rollins has been hooping this year for the Bucks. Coming into the year, many pundits lamented the Bucks' lack of backcourt depth as a major reason to not take them seriously in the East, and while it's still definitely not a strength of the team, Rollins' elite shooting, combined with his ability to get to the basket seemingly at will, have helped shore up that department significantly.
Still, the vibes in Milwaukee overall aren't great at this point in time, as the team currently sits at 9-12 and wouldn't even make the play-in game if the season ended today.
The good news for the Bucks is that their relatively light schedule will continue on Monday evening with a road game vs the Washington Wizards. That contest will tip off at 7:00 pm ET.
