Cole Anthony's opening stretch of the season was defined by severe inconsistency, functioning less as a reliable bench engine and more as a volatile spark plug that misfired far too often. He caught fire on 10/24 vs TOR, pouring in 23 points and seven assists on 9-of-14 shooting to generate a stellar +16.2 impact score. When his jumper actually falls at that clip, his aggressive mentality bends defenses and creates massive offensive momentum for the second unit. Unfortunately, that same unapologetic shot selection actively hurt the team when his touch disappeared. Look no further than his 10/31 vs GSW outing, where he tallied 16 points but still posted a -4.5 impact score. Those points functioned as pure empty calories. He needed 15 field goal attempts to get there, and poor defensive rotations bled away his value on the other end of the floor. The bottom completely fell out during a brutal 11/13 vs CHA tilt, as a forced 2-of-12 shooting night crippled the offensive flow and saddled him with a bleak -10.2 impact score.

A brutal shooting slump and a rapidly shrinking rotation role defined Cole Anthony's mid-November to early December stretch. His offensive rhythm completely vanished during the 11/21 vs PHI matchup, where a clunky 2-for-7 shooting night yielded a disastrous -15.9 Impact score. He briefly found his footing on 11/25 vs POR, pouring in 16 points and doing all his damage inside the arc to finish 8-for-12 from the floor. That highly efficient interior scoring punch earned him a +5.5 Impact score, his only positive mark of the entire twelve-game run. The relief was short-lived. Any momentum immediately evaporated on 11/27 vs MIA when Anthony missed all seven of his field goal attempts. He plummeted to a -14.4 Impact score that night because his forced shots and wasted possessions actively killed offensive momentum. Following that disaster, his playing time vanished into single-digit minutes, a harsh reality for a guard whose utility disappears when his jumper stops falling.