Writing this, knowing that Jabari Parker is gone for the season, is a huge loss in a season where everything looked promising. Seeing him and Giannis improve in front of our eyes every game, as a Bucks fan, gave us hope after a season where everything that could go wrong, went wrong. But knowing he's gone for the season, doesn't make this a lost season for the Bucks. At 13-12, to just throw the season away/ "tank" like the 76ers, would be the worst way to handle this situation. I know some people would like to throw away the season in favor for a high draft pick, but they're 3 reasons why the Bucks shouldn't do that at this point:

1) Keep on developing our young players. We have the 2nd youngest roster in the league and the improvements between Giannis, Knight and Middleton since last year have definitely helped the Bucks to where they are in the season. Throw in having 2 2nd round draft picks, Inglis and O'Bryant, who haven't stepped on the court yet for a game. Not to mention our young PG's in Wolters and Marshall and Henson, who has never found his footing in any rotation under any coach while he's been here. This roster has very promising players, with a player viewed as a "once in a lifetime" player with Giannis and it's important that we keep focusing on that.

2) This roster has playoff-caliber talent. This might divide some people for sure, but this has to be one of the deepest teams the Bucks have had in a long time. With a bench that's one the best in the league, in terms of production, and adding the development of our young players, this team can make the playoffs. From Ilyasova, who certainly will have a bigger role now with Jabari gone, looked like to be the Ersan of old before getting hurt, to Mayo, with numbers that are definitely underwhelming as of now, but with a renewed dedication to the team and basketball in general, and to Bayless, a solid signing in the offseason and has taken the 6th man role on the team to provide a huge spark off the bench. Not to mention Marshall, Dudley and Zaza, who has had flashes as a Magic Johnson-type post passer, and this team is definitely 10 men deep I'm not saying this team will go 46-36 like in 2009-2010, but do I think they might be better than 37-45 like they were in 2012-2013? I definitely think so. They could be as good as 41-41, barring another critical injury from one of our players. This team clearly doesn't want another lost season like last year, so why not see where they end up with the roster they got?

3) The Eastern Conference is terrible. Now this is something no one can deny. Look at the standings and just see the the state of the Eastern Conference. 8 teams have to come out of this conference, and with the start that the Bucks have had, they most likely will be playing basketball in late April. Some people may look at them being "stuck" in the top 8 because of how bad the East is, and that may be the case, but barring a bounce back season from teams like Indiana, Charlotte, or Orlando, the Bucks will be in the mix come playoff time. If this team/coaches/owners want to be a championship-caliber team, you need playoff experience and wouldn't it be interesting to see how this team plays in a big playoff game with the season on the line? It definitely would give us a good look into seeing if Knight is a franchise-caliber PG, if Middleton is a 6th man and can respond in big games by taking clutch shots, if Giannis can blossom into the franchise superstar right before our eyes and if Sanders can redeem his name and play like the big man the Bucks paid him to be a couple of years ago.

I know all of this optimism can turn people off and I could be looked at as a huge homer, but you can't deny where the team is at at this point and how refreshing a winning culture can lift a team. It's something this team can build on with seasons to come and knowing where it all started from can be uplifting to us fans to look back on as well. Some people may look at making the playoffs, losing in the 1st round and sacrificing a high draft pick as a "failure" and the same kind of mentality where we were at a couple of years ago, but it's different this time around. We have players to lean our hopes on, players who want to be here and most importantly, a team that wants to stay here. It's cliche to say, but you need progress to make progress.