Jabari Parker is set to return before the All-Star break but more than real hope for the Milwaukee Bucks and their fans — questions abound. Still, before we proceed, here's the situation, the Bucks are currently in seventh place in the East with a 23-21 record or 10.5 games behind top seed, the Boston Celtics. And certainly, they would need all the help they could get if they were to make a deep run in the playoffs.
While Khris Middleton played well in their recent loss to the Miami Heat, he has got to step up more consistently else the Bucks would just fall closer to surging playoff-seeking teams in the Eastern Conference.
Yes, even with the recent acquisition of Eric Bledsoe from the Phoenix Suns, the Bucks have just been wanting. This wanting could somehow be attributed to the absence of the third star with just Giannis Antetokounmpo and Eric Bledsoe as their more consistent scorers. But with the imminent return of the 2014 second overall pick, things seem to be upbeat at the Bucks' camp as Head coach Jason Kidd expects a healthy Jabari Parker just before the All-Star break.
“He’s doing great," Kidd said, via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "Again, he’s doing everything; he’s practicing, he’s participating with the Herd. So, he’s getting a lot of basketball under his belt. Again, I think we’re about a month away from having him back.”
Would Jabari return ready?
Sure it's been almost a year since Jabari had his second ACL tear, but then is he really ready?
Remember, it's the same knee that he tore in his second of such injury. While he may have been reportedly doing well in practice, he's playing with G Leaguers, otherwise, his teammates where everyone may be wary of accidentally inflicting harm on his knees. So, until we see him in an actual NBA game, say, 10 of them -- we could not really say if his knees would really hold up in the more stressful playoff stage.
Would Jabari return confidently?
Now, assuming that Jabari returns before the All-Star break. How confident would he be on going hard to the rim again and again and again? Having such an injury could be more mental than physical, you see, that he may be less confident to engage body-to-body which would then be detrimental to the team's chances especially during crunchtime -- as it would then leave Giannis and Eric as their only threat.
Would Jabari return the same?
Once Jabari has proven he is 100% healthy and mentally okay, stamina and timing would be the only factors that he has to regain -- which is really a no-brainer. The question here would just be how long would it take for him to shrug off that rust given that he would be under minutes restriction?
Time is ticking. While there's no need to rush, Jabari's got to pass these tests first to be a factor come playoffs.
