Rookie of the Year frontrunner Kevin Pelton of ESPN found that the leader of combined points, rebounds, and assists has won the Rookie of the Year award 26 over the last 27 seasons. Parker was the leader with a total of 19.5 per game, besting second-place
He's also learned some crafty moves.
And also just been crazy athletic.
While he has been more aggressive attacking the rim, he’s also stopped taking three-pointers. Last year he took 118 of them and posted a three-point attempt rate of 28.2%. This year, it’s a minuscule 6.5%, and he has only 15 of them all season. He shot well from that area last season (.347), but will need to create a blend of attacking and spacing to help the Bucks get better on offense.
Without Parker, the offense might actually improve. Kidd was giving a lot of time to both Antetokounmpo and Parker, but neither are good long-range shooters yet. Both Ilyasova and forward Khris Middleton have been good three-point shooters this year, and if more minutes go to them alongside Brandon Knight –- shooting an impressive 39.6% from 3-point land this year –- the Bucks' offense might be able to get to a league-average spot.
Their defense will also need to get things back on track. They started off great, posting a top-five defensive rating through the first couple weeks of the season, but now are 12th and getting closer to regressing to being just average. Big man Larry Sanders has battled foul problem issues all year, and John Henson just can’t seem to find the court regardless of what Bucks coach is currently employed. Parker wasn’t a great defender, but slotting in Ilyasova to his spot for more minutes might not make the defense much better.
The Bucks currently stand 13-12, which is good for the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference. They are clearly in the playoff picture and are well-coached and scrappy enough to keep it that way this season. Their bench isn’t filled with great talent, but it is fairly deep –- or at least deep enough to not really feel Parker’s loss on the court. It’s always sad to lose a promising young player for a year, but things aren’t dire in Milwaukee. They still have pieces for a playoff run this season.