CHICAGO _ After sitting out the loss to the Hawks with what the Bulls said was a strained right patellar tendon, Jabari Parker practiced fully on Thursday and said he plans to play Friday versus the Clippers.
Now, Parker wants to play more.
"Hopefully, it's not small spurts. Hopefully I can get in there to my capabilities," he said calmly after practice. "Being a 20-minute, 25-minute per (game) guy, 10 minutes is not fitting for me. That's just what I hold the standard for myself."
Parker, whose role has fluctuated all season and included a long string of outright benching, logged just 12 minutes, 9 seconds of playing time in Monday's road victory over the Cavaliers. Parker sank two 3-pointers to open the fourth quarter and scored eight points in 2 minutes. He exited for good with 5:57 left.
"Bobby (Portis)'s minutes weren't as much that game either. That happens," coach Jim Boylen said. "I think Jabari would like to be a 20-, 25-minute a game guy. I understand that. Some nights it will work out that way and some nights it won't.
"What I was happy about is in the minutes he was in in that second half, he played well. He didn't have as quite as good of impact on the game in the first half. But you have to give him credit. He hit two big shots and helped the team win. We can't lose sight of that."
Parker said he experienced "just a little soreness" on Thursday and planned to "stay on top of it" to avoid a repeat scenario.
As for his up-and-down minutes, Parker was asked about his "weird" season and vowed he and the team would keep working.
"It's growth," he said. "Myself, I'm not a quitter. I'm not a blamer. All I am is a guy who just finds growth. We can grow.
"I just know that I trust my guys. I make sure all my teammates are doing well. I do my job to be a good teammate. Guys have a good relationship with me and we try to be there for each other."
