Joe Kaiser, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Fantasy fallout of Jabari Parker's injury

Every injury hurts, but anytime a rookie with the rare talent and promise of Jabari Parker goes down to a season-ending injury, it hurts more.

Citing league sources, ESPN's Marc Stein reported the news Tuesday night after tests revealed that Parker tore his left ACL, which the team confirmed later. Initially, there was hope that the No. 2 overall pick in June's draft had suffered only a sprain after his knee buckled on a drive to the basket Monday night in Phoenix, but this news certainly changes everything.

It dampens the hot start of this young, athletic Bucks team, with Jason Kidd as its newest coach, including Monday's buzzer-beating win over the Suns. Believe it or not, if the season ended today, Milwaukee (13-12) would be the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

It reduces the buzz and excitement surrounding this bright young nucleus, centered on the likes of not only Parker but also players like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brandon Knight.

Depending on the recovery process and how well Parker recovers, it could even alter the course of his NBA career. That may seem melodramatic, but we're talking about a player who struggled with his lateral quickness on the defensive side of the ball. An injury of this nature could solidify Parker as an undersized power forward in this league.

What this also does is force Kidd to find a new rotation, and that will certainly be interesting.

The Bucks have as many versatile players capable of playing multiple positions as any team in the NBA, so there are no shortage of options for Kidd. Here are two of the strongest possibilities:

  • Using the 6-foot-11 Antetokounmpo at power forward and sliding Jared Dudley or Khris Middleton at small forward, with O.J. Mayo continuing to start at shooting guard.

  • Going to a big lineup and using either Ersan Ilyasova or John Henson (once he returns from his foot injury) at the 4 spot, which would allow Antetokounmpo to remain at small forward.

Of course, there's a good chance Kidd will mix and match a few other lineups along the way, but it's safe to say Parker's absence will provide a boost to the value of both Middleton (available in 93.2 percent of ESPN leagues) and Antetokounmpo (available in 36 percent of ESPN leagues).

Knight, Mayo and Ilyasova also should see a good bump in their production. According to the NBA stats site nbawowy.com, all three have a usage rate of at least 26.9 whenever Parker was off the court this season, which is about as high as usage rate gets.

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