Things never seem to go right for this iteration of the Bucks.
A surprise playoff team in 2014-15, they regressed badly last season as their defense fell apart. This season was supposed to be when everything turned around again, but Khris Middleton's hamstring injury threw a serious dark cloud over proceedings, and Middleton's return to action Wednesday wasn't enough to stop a losing slide that has seen them lose 11 of their last 13 games.
That wasn't the worst thing that happened in the 106-88 loss to the Heat, as the team announced Thursday Jabari Parker suffered a torn ACL in his left knee.
That is the same ACL that Parker tore during his rookie season, and the team gave him a 12-month timetable to recover. He was back in action 10 1/2 months after that injury, but a second surgery to repair the ligament clearly complicates things.
Parker, the No. 2 pick in the 2014 draft, was really starting to blossom into the player we all hoped he would be this season. After an up-and-down sophomore season a year ago, Parker has jumped to 20.1 points per game, while shooting 49.0 percent from the field. He has added a 3-point shot to his arsenal, nailing 65 attempts in 51 games, a 36.5 percent mark, and he even started contributing more as a playmaking, recording a career-high 142 assists, besting his 2015-16 mark of 130 in nearly 700 fewer minutes.
Parker's injury comes at a bad time for the Bucks, and a bad time for him personally, as he would have been eligible for a max contract extension this fall, and will now head into free agency with likely just a few months of games under his belt returning. Parker's future beyond this season is very much in doubt, especially with very little track record to go on of players successfully returning from two ACL tears.
This obviously has Fantasy implications as well. Those of you in yearly leagues can go ahead and drop Parker, and even in Dynasty formats, his value takes a significant hit. He likely won't contribute much next season, and his chances of hitting his ultimate upside now look much slimmer.
If you're looking for an in-house option, there aren't many to consider. Michael Beasley will have his moments, and might be able to help replace some of Parker's scoring, but we know well enough not to get our hopes up about him at this point, right? Mirza Teletovic could step in and provide more spacing if the team wants to go that route, but neither looks like the type of player you need to run out and grab.
Middleton, who I wrote about yesterday as a sell-high candidate, might be the most likely player to benefit. He remains a re-injury risk, but the Bucks will need more from him without Parker, and concerns about his role being potentially limited down the stretch look a little less valid now. We could see Middleton slide right back into the starting lineup shortly, with Antetokounmpo filling in Parker's spot as the power forward. I still think Middleton carries enough risk after rushing back from a ruptured hamstring that selling high on him still makes some sense, but the injury to Parker certainly raises his ceiling.
If you are looking to replace Parker, you probably need to look elsewhere. Moe Harkless, who will step into the starting lineup for Evan Turner (hand) in Portland, and Jeff Green, starting for Aaron Gordon (foot), could be solid additions, and Darrell Arthur could also be a nice contributor with Kenneth Faried (ankle) injured.
