The Milwaukee Bucks can’t seem to get out of their own way, as last night, they dropped their fifth game in a row, this time around to the Portland Trail Blazers, 115-103.

Ryan Rollins took accountability after the game, saying he needed to work on better getting into the team’s sets. He also noted that Milwaukee’s defense was in need of improvement.

“Honestly, we got to play better defense,” Rollins said during a postgame interview. “People are scoring on us too easy, we’re letting them get into our paint too easy, fouling too much when they get there. And we just got to play better.” 

The Bucks are 21st in the league in defensive rating. Against the Trail Blazers, Portland outrebounded Milwaukee 48-39 and the Bucks committed 10 more fouls over the course of the contest.

Despite the loss, and now 8-10 record, a bright spot for Milwaukee has been the play of some of their role players, especially since Giannis Antetokounmpo went out with a groin injury last week.

Players like Rollins and Bobby Portis have done a solid job of taking on a lot of the offensive load in this period of play without the team’s two-time MVP. 

Against Portland, Portis scored a team-high 22 points. Rollins had a slower than usual night with 10 points –  especially after the 32 and 24-point performances he put together in the Bucks’ two previous games against the Philadelphia 76ers and Detroit Pistons, respectively – but has otherwise been a huge positive for Milwaukee this season. 

Rollins is averaging a career-high 18.2 points per game so far this year – a significant leap from his output last season of 6.2 points per game. 

Considering the way he has played this campaign, even when a perennial all-star like Antetokounmpo was out on the court and available, it would not be a surprise if he were considered a candidate for the league’s Most Improved Player award this year. 

The Bucks’ road ahead does not get any easier in terms of their upcoming schedule.

Looking ahead, Milwaukee does play some teams soon that are toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings such as the Brooklyn Nets and the Washington Wizards, but they also see a juggernaut like the conference-leading Pistons twice over their next seven games, so it’s hard to say what the Bucks’ record will look like following this next stretch. 

The Bucks’ next game is against the Miami Heat at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 26.