Milwaukee Bucks: What Jabari Parker’s Injury Means
Injuries to star players have been abound in the NBA these past few seasons, with players like Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook all missing significant time. Even high draft picks like Blake Griffin, Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid haven’t been safe from the injury plague.
Add the Milwaukee Bucks‘ Jabari Parker to that list.
The Bucks learned Tuesday that Parker will be out for the season with a torn ACL. This certainly dampens hopes for both a young player looking to establish himself early in the league and a team that was looking to turn a serious corner from its dismal last place season just a year ago.
Things were really looking up for the Bucks, who seemed to have found a promising young core in Parker, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brandon Knight. Unfortunately for Milwaukee, another year will be lost in terms of trying to develop all three players on the court together and build valuable chemistry.
In the long term, the injury should not have too much of a negative impact because Parker is still a very young player who has his entire career ahead of him. This will be Parker’s first major injury suffered while playing at a high level, so it will be interesting to see how he reacts.
Will he play the situation completely safe and focus on getting back to the court as fast as possible, or will he take the time to go through the process slowly and work on his game with the time away from the team?
It’s been done by athletes in the past: when they suffer a serious injury, they use that time to add to their expanding game so they can come back better than when they left. Parker certainly has skills he can work on and develop, most notably his long-range jump shot.
To this point, Parker was only shooting 25 percent from three on the season, a number that will have to come up if he expects to fill into his natural position of small forward.
Without a reliable jump shot, Parker cannot expect to fully grow into his perimeter role and will be forced to stick to playing in the post as an undersized power forward.
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I don’t think Parker’s future is at the 4 spot, so taking the extra time to recover and refine his shot may not be such a bad idea. Defense could also be one key area Parker focuses in on during his rehabilitation, as his play on that end of the floor hasn’t been spectacular to this point either.
If Parker could come back a more effective player than he was when he left, then he could take an unprecedented leap in year two and become more of the star scoring forward that many think he can be during his time in the NBA.
So we know what Parker’s job is while he gets healthy, but what can the Bucks do while he is out? Just how much does Milwaukee lose with Parker unable to play for the rest of the season?
Well, the team can almost certainly kiss its playoff hopes goodbye.
Whether people recognize it or not, Parker was a huge playmaker for the Bucks on multiple fronts. Obviously his scoring ability from inside the three-point line was beginning to develop quite nicely, but his passing was also beginning to improve.
With Parker playing a lot of his minutes at the power forward spot, he could be a mismatch at the position, being able to take his man off the dribble with his exceptional foot speed and ball handling ability for his size.
Not many defenders at the four can keep up with Parker because he is a better athlete and much more explosive than initially advertised. Many scouts had Parker pegged as a slightly above average athlete, but he came into the league in better shape than he’s ever been, and he’s put that on display in multiple dunk reels and coast-to-coast drives.
Parker is no joke as a basketball player, and his motor will be missed by Milwaukee.
Even more than his motor was his play in the post. Parker is a surprisingly natural scorer with his back turned to the basket because of his variety of moves. From the up-and-under to the fade-away jump shot, Parker’s versatility and skill down low set up a lot of opportunities for the Bucks because of the double team he would draw.
Parker more often that not draws a help defender to prevent easy scoring opportunities along the baseline, which in turn allows someone to be open either cutting to the basket or on the perimeter for an outside shot. Parker possesses great vision for his size, which allows him to find the open man for a score on any part of the floor.
The Bucks lack a lot of gifted passers. Knight and Antetokounmpo can have their moments dishing the rock, but having a third player with a high basketball IQ that can pass the ball effectively is a luxury, one that the Bucks enjoyed taking advantage of.
Parker was really starting to click with the rest of this Bucks team, and his contributions will not be easy to replace. Guys like Khris Middleton and O.J. Mayo will have to carry their weight and step up to the challenge if this team wants to continue competing at the level they have been over the first two months of the season.
With the Eastern Conference being as weak as it is, it’s not completely farfetched to say that the Bucks could still sneak into the playoffs because of their talent and defensive mentality. But without a star and a leader to rally the team together during tough games and losing streaks, things may be grim for this team until Parker returns.
Parker has real potential and a star skill set, and the Bucks won’t be quick to forget that without him on the floor.
Until he comes back, I’ll leave this highlight video of Parker here to remind you just how good this kid is.
*Statistics courtesy of ESPN