Bucks Zone

Jae Crowder ecstatic to make Bucks return after two-month recovery hiatus: "We can only go up from here"

Jae poured a productive individual night with 15 points to mark his return for the Bucks.

Matthew Dugandzic

© Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

It feels like a long time coming, but Jae Crowder can only be ecstatic to see himself back on the hardwood for the Milwaukee Bucks.

After spending two months-plus of hiatus on the team's recovery chamber following his core muscle surgery, Jae finally felt that basketball action go back to him. In his return, he quickly seized the chance to regain his form by finishing with 15 points, one rebound, and one steal.

The only way is up

While he and the Bucks ended up on the wrong side as the Cavaliers pounded them to a 135-95 defeat on Wednesday night, Jae stands in good spirits that the comeback he had from being inactive since Nov. 11 has been promising.

Crowder didn't show signs of rust, as he was actively involved in physical contact against Cleveland. Additionally, the veteran was coordinated in his on-court movements throughout his 19-minute night.

"Just good for my mental, let me know that I could still play basketball and do it without pain now," he said about his return to the Bucks. "That's the most I took from it. I'm able to make cuts and do stuff without any pain. We can only go up from here. I just think tonight was good for my mental. Obviously, we got our ass kicked, but we're going to regroup and get back to it."

With him back, Jae aspires to aid the Bucks' ongoing surge

Crowder landed his return to a Bucks team that has made significant progress since the last time he managed to play — now a formidable second-seeded team with a 28-13 record.

As he is now healthy and ready to go, Jae expects nothing but the best from himself as he desires to catch up for what he missed in contributing toward Milwaukee's title-seeking rally. Before going down, he was the Bucks' 3-and-D enforcer, shooting at a career-best rate in field goals (53.2%) and three-pointers (51.6%).

"We just got better a little bit," Crowder said. "I played nine games. I feel like you look at us now we're a totally different team. We understand each other more; we're reacting off; we're together a little more, so it's a different feel to the game; we're playing as a unit right now. The first nine games, we were trying to feel each other out, new unit, new guys. But I think right now the team is going up. Obviously, we had a setback tonight with this game. It was one of those games, but I feel like we're in a much better place than we were when I got injured."

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Matthew Dugandzic
MATTHEW DUGANDZIC

Matthew finished his bachelor's degree in Economics (Management) at the University of Split and got his master's degree in the same field at the University of Zadar. Whether it is playing the game as an undersized 6'3'' power forward or simply watching it, Matthew can't get enough of it. After all, he has been an avid NBA fan since the 2000s. But don't get him wrong, as Matthew still loves the old-school NBA and is a true student of the game. From on-court moments to off-court stuff, whether it's about the stars of modern-day basketball or legends of the game, Matthew covers every category of the NBA world and basketball in general, as long as it makes for an engaging and exciting story.