The Bucks' blowout loss in Toronto on Friday night was forgettable on virtually every front, but Bucks fans with an eye on the big picture can at least take solace in another solid performance from Jabari Parker.
The draft's second overall pick couldn't stop the Raptors from running wild, but his 15 points (5/12 fg, 4/6 ft, 1/1 from deep), six boards, three assists, two steals and one block made him the Bucks' lone bright spot on a rather bleak night north of the order. Hey, we'll take what we can get.
And the good news is that we're increasingly getting more from Parker. Having shot 53.1% overall in his last eight games, Jabari's now shooting 71% in the restricted area and 65% inside five feet, underscoring his early promise as a finisher against NBA length. He used his combination of quickness and strength to good effect a couple times last night for buckets, and just missed a pair of posterizing dunks over Jonas Valanciunas as well (one drawing a foul, one back-ironing for a miss).
Areas for improvement: he's struggled in the non-restricted area of the paint (24% from 3-10 feet) and has hit just 4/15 from three overall, not to mention the nightly growing pains he's had on the defensive end. But while his overall numbers are hardly overwhelming (12.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 49.6% true shooting, 14.0 PER), ESPN's David Thorpe has him ranked as the league's best rookie and we're increasingly seeing the sort of skill that you simply don't see in 19-year-old kids.