Jabari Parker only played 25 minutes in the Milwaukee Bucks’ first two games against Boston Celtics. The No.2 pick of 2014 has now complained about this.
“I just feel like something has been taken from me. I was not supported and did not respond properly,” Parker said on Thursday. “I am a human being. I’ve been acting wrong. In the future, I’ll try to be a better person and just be there for my teammates.”
Parker played 15 minutes in game 1, scoring only 2 points. In game 2 it was even only 10 minutes (0 points). In the Regular Season he had been on the court for 24 minutes on average, scoring 12.6 points after making his comeback during the season after his second cruciate ligament rupture.
Now he hopes that his role will change again. “It’s hard to play four minutes and then get back on the bench. No one on the team can do that. Nobody, especially not in my position,” Parker said.
He wants to achieve this by improving his relationship with interim coach Joe Prunty. This is currently not ideal, even if he does not know why: “I do not know. That’s out of my control.”
Parker becomes Restricted Free Agent after the season and it is anything but clear whether Milwaukee will keep him. The third-year professional thinks he is more than a role-player from the bank, as he made clear again on Thursday: “You know it after all. You’re not naive, you watch the games, so you can answer yourself,” Parker said when asked if he deserved more minutes.