After Andrew Wiggins played the best game of his young career on Wednesday, we forecasted that similar success for Jabari Parker would soon follow. It feels good to be right. In the Milwaukee Bucks’ 98-95 loss to the Detroit Pistons last night, Parker scored a season-high 18 points (8-14 FGs) and grabbed eight rebounds, showing off the polished offensive play that’s been hard to come by in the first few games of his rookie career.
Natural scorer.
Though Parker received so many – and we’d argue unwarranted, actually – pre-draft plaudits for his shooting ability, what has us most excited about the 19 year-old’s present and future is his combination of strength, quickness, and knack as a driver from the perimeter and mid-post. There are just few defenders in basketball capable of keeping Parker from the rim when he makes decisive moments. Josh Smith, for instance, isn’t exactly a plodding interior player, but it doesn’t matter – Parker just flat-out beats him here:
And because Jason Kidd is mostly employing Jabari at power forward, the speed advantage he shows above is one he’ll have on a nightly basis. If Milwaukee elects to play bigger with Parker on the wing or an opposing team elects to check him with a small forward, the Duke product’s power will prove similarly beneficial in the same situations.
The guy is already close to being a matchup nightmare. Once Parker hones his jumper and develops a better sense of when and how to attack NBA defenses, performances like Friday’s will become his new normal.
(Video via Dawk Ins)
What do you think?
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