Parker's fit with Chicago Bulls remains puzzling
A true puzzle piece to the Chicago Bulls' preseason is newcomer Jabari Parker.
He was supposed to play small forward, but he moved to power forward after Lauri Markkanen's elbow injury. He's coming back from a second ACL surgery and has a reputation as a poor defender.
During the first three preseason games, it's not even clear what type of player Parker is anymore. His jump shot has been off, so he hasn't been much of a scorer, but he leads the team in rebounds. Per 36 minutes, Parker is averaging 11.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists, which would be impressive numbers for the regular season.
There are times when it seems like his future might be as a Boris Diaw type, a jack-of-all-trades post player. But then Parker will unleash some of the Simeon-era athleticism that made him one of the greatest high school players in Illinois history.
To open the third quarter Monday at Charlotte, he threw down an impressive dunk over the top of Hornets center Cody Zeller, then blew past Marvin Williams for another dunk.
"I'm getting better each game," Parker said Tuesday at the Advocate Center. "It's going to be slow trying to know where I want to be on the floor and trying to adjust. It's new to me."
Parker admitted feeling some nerves during his first few outings in a Bulls uniform. There's always some added pressure coming home, but Parker also is ready to prove himself after a disappointing ending in Milwaukee.
"Yeah, maybe some anxiousness. But in due time, those jitters will remove themselves and I'll get back to playing the way I know I can," he said.
Parker is soft-spoken and chooses his words carefully. He'd like to make a big splash on the court, but it's not his style to draw attention to himself.
The Bulls' defense has been a mess so far in the preseason, so Parker hasn't done much to quell fears about his defensive presence. On Tuesday, he repeated a theme he has used before, that trying to stop NBA-caliber players from scoring is mostly a futile gesture.
"It's all the same, basically," he said of various defensive schemes. "It's a matter of trying to hit them back with a good offense in return. We go into slumps, too. We have some good looks, and it doesn't help that we don't make baskets. We can't let that dictate our defensive energy."
On offense, Parker has looked like someone who knows he can score but hasn't been up to the task. His jump shot has been off, and he's shooting 24.3 percent from the field, 1-for-7 from 3-point range.
"Just trying to get a better feel, a better rhythm, trying to figure out where I can be on the floor," he said. "And it's just new. I knew where I could expect getting my shots with the previous team. Now, shooting the shots that I know I'm going to get in practice leading up to the game is important."
Like the state of the rebuild itself, Parker's place on the Bulls figures to be a long-term work in progress. He likely will move back to small forward when Markkanen comes back, and coach Fred Hoiberg will have to figure out if he needs to cross-match on defense, stick with a smaller front line or maybe use rookie Wendell Carter Jr. as a rim protector to try to cover up mistakes.
However it goes, Parker made it clear that he's planning to stick around past his one-year tryout.
"It's a new environment for me and other people, too," he said. "I'm not looking at it (as) months. I'm trying to build years here. It's going to take some time."
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