The remarkable turnaround of Ryan Rollins took another step on Saturday, with the former Golden State Warriors guard making his first playoff start for the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1 against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge FieldHouse.
Rollins' NBA career was under serious question just over 12 months ago when he was waived by the Washington Wizards, but he's since taken advantage of an unlikely opportunity with the Bucks after initially joining on a two-way contract.
The Bucks were blown away by the Pacers in their playoff opener
The 22-year-old's first playoff game didn't quite go according to plan though, with Milwaukee down by 24 at half-time before eventually falling to a 117-98 defeat. With the absence of veteran star Damian Lillard, Rollins got the start at point guard yet only played 19 minutes in which he recorded five points, two rebounds and three assists.
Rollins shot just 2-of-8 from the floor and 1-of-4 from 3-point range, with the Bucks struggling to generate any form of offense beyond 2x MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo who had 36 points and 12 rebounds in 38 minutes.
It was Rollins' former Wizards teammate Kyle Kuzma who drew the ire most from fans though, having failed to record a single point, rebound, assist, steal or block while shooting 0-of-5 from the floor in 22 minutes.
Kyle Kuzma has the most minutes by a starter in a playoff game without recording a stat ever. pic.twitter.com/ZKq3W9jQjm
— Real Sports (@realapp_) April 19, 2025
Kyle Kuzma is a great example of availability actually being the worst ability
— Tęrräñøvå (Overly Positive Pal) (@TerranovaNoah) April 19, 2025
I would rather have 41 regular season games and 16 playoff games with Khris than 82 regular season games and 6 playoff games with Kuzma.
— WISCODSIN (@Wiscodsin) April 19, 2025
While Milwaukee will obviously need more from Kuzma going forward, they could receive a boost in the form of a returning Lillard for Game 2 or 3 according to ESPN's Shams Charania. That would almost undoubtedly see Rollins return to the bench and into a much more limited role, particularly given the good form of Kevin Porter Jr. who had 12 points, five rebounds and five assists in Game 1.
The Warriors originally drafted Rollins with the 44th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, but traded him after just one year and 12 games with the franchise as part of the blockbuster Jordan Poole-Chris Paul trade.
Even if Rollins does get benched upon Lillard's return, at least he can say he got a playoff start and legitimate minutes. The same can't be said for another former Warrior in Dario Saric who was stapled to the bench during the Denver Nuggets' stunning Game 1 comeback win over the L.A. Clippers at Ball Arena.
After appearing in just 16 games for the Nuggets during the regular season, there's no surprise that Saric was left out of the rotation in his team's 112-110 overtime victory. Yet it's still a disappointing outcome for the veteran big man who left Golden State to sign a two-year, $10.6 million contract with Denver last offseason.
The Warriors will start their playoff campaign against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on Sunday.