I get sad when everyone decides to hate on Jabari Parker. Not saying it’s not deserved, but I still have a soft spot in my blackened heart for Jabarles Parkley. It’s not his fault that he doesn’t appear to have the acumen needed to play NBA-level defense. It’s not his fault that the league is moving away from no-defense chuckers. It’s not his fault he’s a black Mormon and thus doesn’t really fit in with either Mormons or blacks. All these things beyond his control, so he tries to do the one thing he can, which is shoot shots. Can you blame him?
I think there’s a chance that he wins 6th Man of the Year if the Bulls keep him on the bench but also let him shoot all the shots he wants. Despite being fairly unimpressive his first two games with his new team, he’s still averaging double-digits solidly. We’re just not going to talk about his defense, though, except that it totally cost the Bulls last game.
Treat him well, Bulls fans. Don’t hate on him too much. The expectations he had coming in as the 2nd overall pick were large, but those are all gone now. Two knee surgeries later, it’s almost all you can hope for that he can still score 15 a game.