Chicago Bulls: Jabari Parker being self-critical is a great sign

Following an ugly preseason loss against the Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls forward Jabari Parker was heavily critical upon himself.

Maybe it was the rude welcome he received as he returned to Milwaukee, or maybe it was just an off-night. Either way, Chicago Bulls forward Jabari Parker had a rough game in his second preseason contest on Wednesday night.

To be perfectly clear, the entire Bulls team had a rough night. Only a single player for Chicago finished the game with a positive plus/minus — one player. To give you some context, here are some of the plus/minus finishes from Wednesday night:

• Zach LaVine: -21
• Robin Lopez: -32
• Kris Dunn: -30
• Justin Holiday: -31
• Parker: -26

I know, it’s even uglier when you see the numbers in plain sight. Thankfully, this was only preseason. But, the Bulls don’t have much time to shore up the lack of defense they put on display against the Milwaukee Bucks.

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The Bucks shot nearly 50 percent for the game while drilling 15 3-point shots and winning by a score of 116-82.

After the game, Parker simply told reporters:

"“I played like doo-doo.”"

Short, sweet and to the point — I actually like it.

I like it because this is coming from a player who, not too long ago, had this to say to reporters when asked about his defense:

"“Look at everybody in the league. They don’t pay players to play defense. There’s only two players, historically, who play defense. I’m not gonna say that I won’t, but to say that’s a weakness is like saying that’s everybody’s weakness.”"

That was just a few short months ago when Parker dug himself a hole with Bulls fans. I, myself, wasn’t too fond of those comments then, and I’m still not warming up to them. However, to hear him self-criticize comes as a small breath of fresh air for a still-young player that has everything to prove.

Parker’s attitude clearly wasn’t in the right place a couple of months ago, but maybe he’s adjusted. His teammates understand that defense is mandatory. Even LaVine talked about the lack of effort following the game:

"“We all can play defense. Everybody in the NBA can play defense,” LaVine said, per the Chicago Tribune. “We’re some of the most athletic people in the game. It’s just that determination and that learning curve.”"

At least it appears to be understood that these guys are expected to defend. They aren’t exactly the top-notch defensive unit the Bulls once were a few years ago under Tom Thibodeau, nor do they have those types of players on the roster. But, to give some kind of effort is still the minimum expectation — hopefully, Parker goes above and beyond just the minimum going forward.