The Milwaukee Bucks have Jabari Parker back on the court Wednesday for the first time since the forward had surgery to repair a torn ACL last season. Jason Kidd and the Bucks come into the game after getting their first win of the year against the Brooklyn Nets, improving to 1-3 on the season.
Parker was activated for the game against the Nets on Monday, but he did not play and now he is set to return against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday. The game against the Sixers will be at home for the former number two overall pick in the draft and Parker returns less than a year after suffering a torn ACL injury. ESPN reports that Parker was given clearance by the team medical staff last week.
Head coach Jason Kidd said that Parker will have a minutes limit when he returns and he said he expected "15-20 minutes" would be the range to start off. The Bucks also plan to keep Parker out of back to back games on the schedule to be cautious with the injury. ESPN reports that Parker has been practicing with the first team unit and that he could start for Milwaukee when he returns.
Parker has not played in a preseason game or regular season game since the injury, but he has practiced with the Bucks this season and in training camp. Parker averaged 12.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in 25 games as a rookie last season before going down with the injury in December. The Bucks are looking to get back to the playoffs after making it last season and the team wants to build a core around Parker, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greg Monroe and Parker coming back is a major step for that.
The Bucks now have their first victory of the year and it came as Kidd returned to face his old team in Brooklyn. The Bucks feel that they can be one of the top teams in the east this season after making the playoffs last year and so far they have been off to a tough start. The team comes in with the Sixers on Wednesday and that could be a chance to get things going again and after that they have the Knicks, Nets, Celtics and Nuggets.
The schedule after that picks up, so if the team wants to get back up over .500, they need to start winning games. Getting Parker back should only help and coming up in the middle of the month the team has a home and home with the Cavaliers and an away game against the Wizards. The Bucks are an up and coming team and with Greg Monroe in the mix, they could be a surprise in the east.
