The Milwaukee Bucks lost their season-opening game on Tuesday night by 25 points. Making matters worse, Jason Kidd’s group was playing at home against the New York Knicks, a mediocre team at best that is integrating several key new pieces. Needless to say, Milwaukee’s debut didn’t exactly suggest the success that seemed so imminent following a surprising 2014-15 season.
But context renders the Bucks’ struggles a bit more understandable. Not only were they playing without Giannis Antetokounmpo due to a one-game suspension gleaned from last season’s playoffs, but they were also absent Jabari Parker due to his late-stage recovery from a torn ACL.
The good news for Milwaukee is that Antetokounmpo will be on the court for its tilt with the Washington Wizards on Friday night. Even better? That Parker will soon return to the lineup for the first time since last December.
Source says Jabari Parker will fly to New York ''soon'' to meet with Dr. David Altchek, who did his knee surgery, and get clearance to play.
— Gery Woelfel (@GeryWoelfel) October 30, 2015
Kidd told the Associated Press earlier this week that the No. 2 pick of the 2014 draft would “hopefully” debut in the “first couple weeks of November” and slowly be eased into action. Obviously, this latest news supports the notion that Parker will be available to play sooner instead of later.
Before suffering a torn ACL in mid-December, the Duke product had established himself as the clear frontrunner for Rookie of the Year. Parker averaged 12.3 points and 5.5 rebounds on 49 percent shooting in just 25 games last season, showing off the preternatural scoring talent and rare combination of size and burst that made him a household name in high school. His forecasted struggles on defense came to fruition and he’d yet to grow comfortable with the NBA three-point line, but Parker’s brief rookie season was certainly encouraging nonetheless.
The Bucks still have many questions to answer before reaching their perceived status as a surefire playoff team. But Milwaukee can’t begin the process of doing so until its entire roster is in place, which appears increasingly likely to prove the case quite soon enough.