Not again.
That was the first thought of so many Milwaukee fans when forward Jabari Parker drove to the basket in the third quarter of the Bucks’ home game against Miami Wednesday, but crumpled to the floor when his left knee buckled.
Parker, 21, suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in that same knee as a rookie in December 2014. The 6-foot-8 product of Duke was sidelined until the start of the 2015-16 season and only blossomed as a scorer and young star this season, averaging 20.2 points in Milwaukee’s first 50 games.
The Bucks’ injury report from the locker room termed Parker’s injury a “sprained,” but a magnetic resonance imaging exam (MRI) would be needed to learn the full extent of the damage.
Jabari drives on Babbitt and left knee buckles. He is being helped off court.
— cfgardner (@cf_gardner) February 9, 2017
Bucks’ Jabari Parker helped off the floor after going down with non-contact knee injury pic.twitter.com/5qPs74fIFq
— The Crossover (@TheCrossover) February 9, 2017
Hope Jabari is ok.
— Micky Arison (@MickyArison) February 9, 2017
Not tonight. That might have been the second thought of Bucks fans, who had looked forward to the return of wing Khris Middleton, playing his first game of the season after tearing his left hamstring in a preseason workout in September.
Milwaukee, underachieving at 22-28 prior to facing the Heat, had looked forward to adding Middleton’s shooting touch to their mix. The 25-year-old, also 6-foot-8, averaged 18.2 points last season and shot 40.0 percent from 3-point range in his first three NBA seasons.
The result of Parker’s MRI will determine whether this was a giveth-and-taketh-away night for the Bucks.
