Bucks' Carter-Williams not surprised by benching: 'I wouldn't start me either'

All players go through rough patches. It's inevitable. No one is immune to the valleys that accompany the peaks of a long, arduous NBA season.

Just ask Milwaukee Bucks point guard Michael Carter-Williams.

The third-year floor general has gotten off to a poor start - by his standards - to the 2015-16 campaign.

"The past couple games my play has been down," the 24-year-old admitted.

As a result of Carter-Williams' underwhelming numbers - 9.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 4.6 assists - which have all been considerably under his career averages, Bucks head coach Jason Kidd was left no choice but to look elsewhere for supplemental production from the lead guard position.

For Sunday's matchup against the surging Charlotte Hornets, Kidd replaced the Syracuse alumnus with Jerryd Bayless in the starting lineup - a move in which Carter-Williams was hard pressed to find fault.

"If I'm a coach, I wouldn't start me, either," he said.

In his 43 minutes of floor time, Bayless put together a modest stat line of 11 points (4-of-14 from the field), six boards, six dimes, and a steal.

Although they outscored their opponent in three of the four quarters, a nine-point output in the second stanza likely sealed the Bucks' fate in the 87-82 loss.

Nevertheless, Kidd was pleased with the swap at lead guard.

"I thought the lineup switch got us off to a really good start," he explained. "Defensively, guys were into it and we got a lot of deflections. We had multiple shooters on the floor."

And so, the onus is on Carter-Williams - who hasn't played more than 28 minutes in over two weeks - to position himself, through improved on-court play, for additional minutes and restored trust from his coach.

"Whatever minutes I get, I'm going to come in and try to help the team, cheer from the bench, and try to cheer my teammates on," he said optimistically.

"I know it's hard right now. I think things will get better."