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

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."