Milwaukee Bucks: Jabari Parker Has Found His Groove

Jabari Parker may not be getting the same amount of attention as his teammate and presumptive All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo, but he is quietly having a breakout season.

Jabari Parker struggled to live up to the hype of being drafted second overall in his first two seasons. He missed the majority of his rookie season after tearing his ACL, and also missed the first four games of his sophomore campaign. Touted as an incredible athlete coming into the league, Parker occasionally looked a step slow during his first two seasons.

This year, he seems to have fully recovered from his injury and is starting to resemble the dominant scoring force he was projected to be after his one season at Duke.

Parker is averaging 20.1 points per game this season. He has also made strides on the defensive end, an area where he struggled mightily in his first two seasons. With Giannis Antetokounmpo also having a career year, the future looks bright for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Offense: Jabari And The Bucks Attack The Rack

In a season with two teams on track to break the record for three-point attempts per game (the Houston Rockets and, oddly enough, the Brooklyn Nets), the Bucks are instead taking advantage of the other prime area for analytics favorites: shots near the rim. The Bucks currently lead the NBA in field goal makes from five feet and in according to NBA.com’s shot tracking data.

A large part of that success is due to the rim-attacking ways of Milwaukee’s two young stars. Giannis Antetokounmpo, with his long arms and longer strides, currently leads the league in field goals per game from less than five feet from the basket. That might not surprise anyone who has seen him Euro-step his way to the rim from the three-point time.

Milwaukee would not be where they are in terms of scoring at the rim with Giannis alone, however. The fourth-leading scorer from less than five feet from the rim is none other than Jabari Parker.

The Bucks take full advantage of their best players’ abilities to attack the basket by doing so as much as possible. Milwaukee ranks eighth in their number of drives per game and sixth in field goal percentage on those drives. The Bucks frequently look to run in transition so their 6’11” point guard can try to get to the rim. If Giannis cannot find an easy basket himself, Jabari is usually right behind to clean up:

Teams usually struggle to defend any of the five best rim scorers in the league. Having two of them on the same team can wreak havoc on a defense. The Bucks lack three-point snipers besides the on-and-off Mirza Teletovic, and they clearly miss Khris Middleton. For now though, their ability to score at the basket is overriding any cramped floor spacing.

Jabari Adds A Three-Pointer

The Bucks might not look to shoot three-pointers, but that has not stopped Jabari from doing so. After shooting just 13 for 51 from behind the arc in his first two seasons, Parker has made 34 of 89 threes this season. That leaves him at 38.2 percent from behind the arc.

Defenses have not adjusted to Jabari shooting three-pointers yet. Parker has been open or wide-open on 93.5 percent of his three-pointers this season according to NBA.com’s shot tracking data. When Jabari does go for the three-pointer, there is rarely anyone near him:

When Jabari is not directly involved in the offense, he often hangs out around the three-point line and waits for a pass. Giannis will occasionally run towards the rim and into traffic and not notice Jabari wide open behind the line.

However, that aspect of Milwaukee’s chemistry will likely improve as the season goes on. For the moment though, it seems like neither Milwaukee nor their opponents have noticed Jabari’s new three-point weapon.

Defense: Making Strides

A lot of the criticism lobbed at young Jabari Parker centers around his defensive struggles. His Defensive Rating of 111 was second-worst among Buck players with more than 1500 minutes last season. Parker often looked lost on rotations and the athleticism that helped him so much on offense rarely translated on defense. Opponents shot 4.6 percent better than their average when guarded by Parker last season according to NBA.com.

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Jabari may never become a defensive stalwart, but he has looked much better on that end this season. Another season removed from the ACL surgery has given him extra bounce and speed, which has helped him on both ends. More importantly, his effort on defense looks vastly different from last season. He will still occasionally get caught on screens, and he will always struggle against bigger power forwards in isolation. However, he is only allowing opponents to shoot 0.5 percent better than average against him this season. If he can be even a neutral defender going forward, that would be a huge win for Milwaukee.

 Push For The Playoffs And The Future

The Milwaukee Bucks are currently 14-14 and are seventh in the Eastern Conference. Their Net Rating of +2.0, however, is the fourth best mark in the East. The Bucks failed to make the postseason last year. This season, they looked poised to make a triumphant return.

Kyrie Irving might disagree, but Milwaukee could be a scary first-round opponent for nearly anyone in the East. Khris Middleton may also be healthy in time for the playoffs, which would make the Bucks even more of a threat.

After a great freshman year at Duke, Jabari Parker failed to live up to the hype in his first two NBA seasons. This year, he seems fully recovered from his ACL injury and is attacking the rim and the NBA with ferocity.

Next: 2016-17 NBA Power Rankings: Week 9

With Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the way and Khris Middleton poised to juice Milwaukee’s offense with his three-point shooting, Jabari and the Bucks appear to be Eastern Conference threats for years to come.