Darko Watch

[_marsal]

You think he'd ban me just because of this post? Well then, f*ck it i guess. Anyway, this is my last post/argument why I like Darko. I feel like i made my point. Next time I'll be on *ignore mode*

[Fenix]

Nah, I don't think he will, but one thing is certain - you're going to get flamed, big time .

[J@3]

He's not going to get flamed. His points are terribly invalid and easy to refute, but I'll look past that and respond in a mature and concise manner

There's just one difference in Bogut's rookie year and Darko's. Bogut had Gadzuric, Joe Smith and E. Johnson in front of him, while Darko had Ben, Rasheed, Mehmet, Elden and McDyess. I wonder if Bogut would've got the chance.

Horrible point. Of course Bogut would've got a chance. What you seem to be forgetting is that Darko was a completely unproven kid from God knows where in Europe, where he was getting limited minutes and was drafted based on hype and potential. Andrew Bogut lead his college team to the third round of the NCAA Tournament, averaged 20ppg and 12rpg for Utah that year and won a multitude of awards....

NABC District 13 First Team
USBWA District 8 Player Of The Year
Yahoo.com Player Of The Year
SI.com First Team All-American
CBS-Sportsline.com Player Of The Year
Basketball Times Player Of The Year
Oscar Robertson Trophy USBWA Player Of The Year
Chevrolet Player Of The Year
Pete Newell Big Man Of The Year
National Association of Basketball Coaches POTY
Sports Illustrated On Campus Men's Basketball POTY
ESPN Player Of The Year
Mountain West Conference Player Of The Year
Mountain West All-Tournament Team
AP First Team All American
AP First Team All American Top Vote Tally
AP Player Of The Year
Naismith Trophy
John R. Wooden Award

That means he was the absolute best player in college basketball in 2005. Now compare that to what Darko had achieved and you can see why it's ridiculous to think that Bogut would've rotted on the bench with Detroit. He would've got minutes, Larry Brown likes proven products and there was obviously something about Darko that rubbed him the wrong way.

Look at the WC in Japan. Let's compare Bogut and Darko:

Ridiculous argument. Carlos Arroyo has better stats than Dwyane Wade, Kirk Penney is outscoring LeBron James, Ardvydas Macijauskas is putting up better numbers than all of them. There's no way you can compare performances in international tournaments to the NBA. Chris Bosh absolutely sucks in this tournament, but are the Raptors going to go and trade him for Anderson Varejao who is playing much better? Why not compare Bogut and Darko's NBA careers? If you double Darko's career minutes (since in 3 seasons Darko has only amassed 1/2 of the minutes Bogut has played in one season despite playing 40 more games) and double the total numbers, Bogut is still superior to every one of Darko's categories apart from blocks.

Anyways, all of this aside, I'd love to know why you Darkophiles seem to bring up Bogut everytime someone from Australia criticises Darko? Is there any reason or is it just the fact that you can't compile an argument against any Darko criticism apart from "he looks good in practise", "he plays well for Serbia" or "Larry Brown is a Nazi"?

[cyanide]

Chris Bosh absolutely sucks in this tournament, but are the Raptors going to go and trade him for Anderson Varejao who is playing much better?

Sadly, the people at RealGM are throwing fits about Bosh's unproductivity at the Worlds, and the more intelligent ones are making the exact same points as you: you can't compare the NBA to a national tournament.

Bosh

Edit: Bosh just scored 20 points in the last game. Watch RealGM blow up praising Bosh as the NBA's next greatest while the more intelligent ones are trying to calm them down with the same points as mentioned above blah blah blah

[_marsal]

Jae, ok. I won't continue with why I like Darko etc. I doubt that you and I can be on the same page here

Oh, just to answer your question why I brought up Bogut. Because they're similar type of players, they're both young, they're both PF/C and simply because you're from Australia - meaning you probably like Bogut.

I guess we'll see how Darko improves in the NBA. I dare to say he'll have slightly better numbers than Bogut Let's wait and see.

[J@3]

I wouldn't be surprised if he does, he's a good player. Like I said, it can just be a bit irritating when Bogut is brought up everytime Darko is criticised.

[Metsis]

We can treat this winter as Darko's rookie season

how about no.

What's there not to love about Darko...

His excessive whining at Detroit and subsequent bitching about playing time after TWO games with Orlando is a start.

If Darko isn't starting for Orlando this season, I'll be damned. He was probably bitching about the PT because he has seen his share or 2 minutes per game action. Which is basically nothing.

Darko basically got to the floor for the first time after he was traded. Then we basically saw that he ain't at least a total bust, he just never had a chance. I don't know what would Darko play like had he not come to the NBA when he was barely 18, but had stayed in Europe to get some experience before entering the draft...

Even you Jae can't say that Darko is a total bust at the moment. He is a good player in the international competition and we'll finally see if he's got it to be a good NBA player... He is for a fact a player that can play on the NBA level, he did good in Orlando.

If Darko was out of the league or horribly injured at this point, then he could be considered a bust... But not yet, not now... Any reasonable human being would give him more time before dropping the final hammer for the verdict...

[J@3]

I think he should've been starting too, but at the same time I thought it was strange of him to be complaining after being at Orlando for such a short time. I don't think he's a bust, maybe in the context of that draft (which is one of the best of all time) he might be, but as a player he'll probably have a long successful career. He's obviously still young, and if he succeeds then great but I just found his attitude a bit off putting.

[Fenix]

Do you have the actual quote? If I remember correctly, it wasn't such a big deal and was totally taken out of the context.

Edit: found it.

Milicic is already pushing for Magic coach Brian Hill to give him more minutes and especially more touches on the offensive end of the floor.

"I know what I can do. Coach understands that I'm new here and he's learning what I can do," Milicic said. "Like (Wednesday night), I play 25 minutes and have three shots. Three shots in 25 minutes is strange to me. (Hill) said he understands and he's going to give me more balls in the post. He's still trying to learn about me and how best to use me."

My response:

First of all, he doesn't say he wants more minutes, he only compares number of shots to the number of minutes he played and he makes a pretty good point. He only shot three times and that's to little. I agree with him 100%. He should get more shots. I don't see how this is sign of immaturity. We don't know what the reporter asked him. It was probably something like: "Why did you shot only three times?" and he gives a good answer - he's new on the team and Hill is learning how to utilize him. Saying that he demands more touches and minutes is overreacting.

[J@3]

It's posted in this thread somewhere, I'm not going back and looking for it. It wasn't totally taken out of context, it was hardly a demand but it was a bit stupid to say after like 2 games.

[Matt]

you can't compare the NBA to a national tournament

International competition allows Carlos Arroyo to be a superstar. If the Worlds were played by "NBA rules" then USA would have a cake walk.

On topic: International play should keep Darko in shape for start of the season.

Hopefully more of this soon....

http://rapidshare.de/files/30693578/DarkoOverZo.wmv.html

[_marsal]

Oh well, I can't say I'm surprised..S&M lost to Spain...Darko had 18 points (just 9/23 shooting - he had poor first half and then picked it up in the second), 15 rebounds ( ), 3 assists and 3 blocks. Very all-round play. He was matched with Pau almost the entire time and "held" him for 19 points (6/13 shooitng), 15 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 blocks..He (Darko) showed quite a few offensive moves, including a very nice touch just inside the 3pt land

Now let's hope he works hard in the offseason and makes a name for himself next season

[Matt]

Looks like international play has been benefitial to him. Looking back at some of his int. games, he's shown some strong moves, aggresiveness, hustle and some stifling defence.

[Fenix]

His passing is great, probably the best part of his offense. Also, it looked like Serbia's offense is all about clearing the inside for the guards to penetrate and that is how Darko gets a lot of outside shots. He also served as a point centre quite a lot. The thing he clearly has to improve is his overall feel for the game. He clearly has the IQ, but it looked like he can't concetrate, but that's probably just his youth. Oh, and it looked like he's got at least 10-20 pounds on Gasol. He should've used his body more.

[Metsis]

His passing is great, probably the best part of his offense. Also, it looked like Serbia's offense is all about clearing the inside for the guards to penetrate and that is how Darko gets a lot of outside shots. He also served as a point centre quite a lot. The thing he clearly has to improve is his overall feel for the game. He clearly has the IQ, but it looked like he can't concetrate, but that's probably just his youth. Oh, and it looked like he's got at least 10-20 pounds on Gasol. He should've used his body more.

The kid is still young and learning... He will get more comfortable with the physical stuff as he gets older. Darko was the man for S&M and he played well. He is no superstar, at least not yet, but he's got game and getting even more gamier by the day...

I found this article about the worlds on NBA.com. Most of you have probably read it, but here it is anyway...

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/basketball/magic/orl-nbainsider2706aug27,0,2164141.column?coll=orl-magic

[Mayerhendrix]

The NBA's lacking in dominant big men as the demise of players like Shaq and Zo is slowly happening, so Darko should be able to thrive as a player in this day and age.

[kinokong]

well the next generation of big men like amare, dwight, oden are coming along with finesse big men such as darko, nowitzki, maybe that italian kid....

[iG®]

Pay Darko now or later?



Thanks to an offseason weightlifting program, Darko Milicic has bulked up, reportedly adding 20-25 pounds of muscle to his 7-foot frame. Now the question becomes: Will he shed the weight of all those expectations that have become so heavy since he was drafted second overall in 2003?

Link.

[Dan's Brain]

^^ good find

So what would you do? Would you rather lock in Milicic now at what would probably be a cheaper rate or hold off and see how he performs for a full year? Or do you still consider Milicic a bust who'll never make a significant impact for a contending team?

that's a good question. i'd really be inclined to hold off on an extension, because i dont think he's going to make really huge improvements this season. i think he'll be solid, but they've got Dwight Howard who'll be wanting an extension next year, and he's going to be demanding a much higher deal.

[qhaz_mk]

Too bad Joe D. got rid of that kid........now we have to wait for Jason or Amir to get sharp.......and it won't happen this season.......

[iG®]

USA Today - The Orlando Magic plan to send video footage of a controversial play in which Darko Milicic was knocked to the floor and injured his back to the NBA for further clarification.

Milicic was drilled in the chest by Atlanta Hawks rookie Shelden Williams' shoulder Tuesday, sending the Magic power forward sprawling. Milicic landed hard on the floor, bruising his lower back. X-rays Tuesday showed no structural damage, but Milicic isn't expected to play tonight when the Magic face the Hawks in Birmingham, Ala.

Magic coach Brian Hill was furious about the play and was assessed a technical foul for protesting to referee Courtney Kirkland. He was still fuming Wednesday, saying Williams should have been whistled for an offensive foul.

"I watched the tape, and the angle we have it's difficult to see," Hill said. "But you can tell by the way (Milicic's body) lifts up off the floor that it had to be an offensive foul.

"We'll send three or four clips to the league to get clarification, but that's pretty common procedure."

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archi ... n_milicic/

[Amphatoast]

No doubt Darko is a very tall freak athlete. In the NBA, lately, it seems that alone gets you a max deal(see S.Dalambert, D.Miles, K.Brown, T.Chandler, S.Swift). I am not sure how much it would have cost Orlando to sign him for 5 or 6 more but my guess is less than what the group above is getting.

so true, i think waiting this yr is the best option though, too many big men slacking off after the money as seen above

[Jugs]

He's on a contract year so he'll either perform well and get an extension or be a bust.

[Matt]

if i was Orlando, i'd lock him up now. At worst, he'll still be easy to trade. Then again, we have to trust Otis Thorpe since he's made some good decisions. Grant Hill is a FA nxt season so we'll see how t all plays out.

[Laxation]

He's on a contract year so he'll either perform well and get an extension or be a bust.

He could be average... 10 5 with 2 blocks and assists... And then still get 60mil for 5 years