The Milwaukee Bucks have struggled to find success without Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game, but the Milwaukee Bucks decided to hold him out.
Antetokounmpo missed his fourth straight game with a left adductor strain. Without their superstar forward in the mix, the Bucks suffered their first-ever loss in NBA Cup group play.
The Bucks have also lost all four games without Giannis. They need their superstar back soon, if they want to stay afloat in the East.
Someone who was supposed to step up in Antetokounmpo’s absence was Cole Anthony, who has struggled this season.
Doc Rivers acknowledges Cole Anthony’s poor play but doesn’t lose hope
Cole Anthony had just 2 points on 0-for-7 shooting from the field in 11 minutes in the loss to the Miami Heat.
Will Giannis want out of Milwaukee if the Bucks continue to lose?
He had one strong game against the Portland Trail Blazers on November 24 where he went for 16 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the field, but other than that he has been poor for Milwaukee.
Anthony has averaged just 8.3 points this season on 41.3 percent shooting from the field and 25.5 percent shooting from three.
Doc Rivers opened up about Anthony’s struggles.
“He’s struggling. He’s struggling right now and we have to do something to help him. He’s turning the ball over and taking some really rough shots for us.
“We just gotta keep coaching him. The kid can play. We gotta keep believing in him.
“He gets down on himself, probably too much, which leads to the next error. So, we gotta find the right happy medium to get him to be able to play through mistakes.”
Cole Anthony has struggled the last two seasons
Anthony showed a lot of promise to begin his NBA career with the Orlando Magic.
He averaged double-digit points in his first four seasons with the Magic, including a breakout year in 2021-22, where he averaged 16.3 points per game.
However, Anthony’s numbers have drastically gone down the last two seasons, when looking at his points per game
Cole Anthony: Per Game Stats Comparison
| Season | Team | PPG (Points) | MPG (Minutes) | RPG (Rebounds) | APG (Assists) | GP (Games Played) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 (So Far) | MIL | 8.7 | 19.2 | 3.2 | 4.9 | 17 |
| 2024/25 | ORL | 9.4 | 18.4 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 67 |
| Change | -0.7 | +0.8 | +0.2 | +2.0 | ||
When the Bucks brought Anthony in this past summer, they were hoping he would thrive, especially since the Bucks had a big hole at point guard.
Anthony is averaging more assists this season than last season, but the Bucks need more scoring output from the 25-year-old.