Doc Rivers slams the door shut on Bucks’ woeful Cam Thomas experiment
Over the weekend, Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers slammed the door shut on the Cam Thomas experiment that started so promising. The guard performed simply three minutes in Saturday’s defeat to the Atlanta Hawks and didn’t see the ground in the win over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
Water poured on the Cam Thomas flames
It appears like a lifetime in the past when Thomas dropped 34 factors towards the Orlando Magic in his second recreation in a Bucks jersey. Now, in mid-March, he has discovered minutes laborious to come back by and is averaging simply 7.4 factors in 13.4 minutes this month.
Milwaukee snapped a four-game shedding streak on Sunday, however they’ve misplaced seven of their final 10, and Thomas is not the solely participant to have struggled throughout that run. Rivers has repeatedly modified the beginning lineup and rotation, which does not assist.
In Rivers’ protection, nonetheless, little or no has labored for the Bucks this season, with the staff being very up and down and gamers missing any actual consistency. Now they’re in a scenario the place sure massive minute gamers have seen their time on court docket lower, and the likes of Pete Nancewho’s on a two-way, are taking minutes over veterans.
Thomas, as an addition, felt like a welcome one for the Bucks. They desperately wanted somebody off the bench to deliver some scoring punch, notably with Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined at the time. Kevin Porter Jr. and Ryan Rollins stored the beginning 5 afloat at first, with Thomas offering that further offense from the second unit.
Bucks’ new technique doubtless phases Thomas out
Recently, Rivers spoke about utilizing an even bigger lineup, and it made sense given the Bucks’ struggles to crash the glass and their inside protection. This, nonetheless, has seen Thomas lose the minutes he had, and even AJ Green has now discovered his approach to the bench. Even a beginning 5 with Ousmane Dieng, Kyle Kuzma, Giannis, and Myles Turner has been used. That is taking going massive to a special stage, exhibiting the dedication.
Things simply have not labored since Giannis’ return. The staff had been on a good run and their return to the court docket felt like a much-needed increase for a team chasing the Play-In. Now, the fixed altering of lineups and rotations means there may be little or no continuity and on-court relationships constructed, so that the majority gamers are struggling. Some of that’s right down to Rivers, a few of it’s right down to gamers not performing.
Things have not labored for the Milwaukee Bucks with their latest rotation modifications, in order that doubtless implies that Thomas will discover his method again in quickly. As a signing that had a lot promise to start with, the water has clearly been poured onto the flames, and proper now, he’s amongst a number of gamers who are actually combating for minutes again in the staff.
