Darko Starts!

[Meanie]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=250419001

Not bad stats either.

[Amphatoast]

wow, new pope meant new things in the NBA too.
broke career high in points, field goals made, field goals attempted, and most importantly minutes. Could Darko NOT be a bust

[Null17]

was about to post this...16 points 4 rebounds and 30 minutes. well the pistons got nothing to loose anyway and they were playing the hawks so it wasn't really a surprise

[cyanide]

That's pretty nice for a young guy like him. I wish he got more rebounds, but I guess I can't complain in his scoring department.

[furious1]

Hmm 16 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assist, 1 turnover, 4 fouls 64% shooting from the field in his first start. Well he's not a bust.

[Andrew]

Looks like he could be a good player if he got the time. Nevertheless I'm surprised he got the opportunity though, even against Atlanta this late in the season with the second seed clinched. I wonder if Larry Brown will be inclined to give him any time in the playoffs.

[cyanide]

Looks like he could be a good player if he got the time. Nevertheless I'm surprised he got the opportunity though, even against Atlanta this late in the season with the second seed clinched. I wonder if Larry Brown will be inclined to give him any time in the playoffs.

I'm wondering about that too. I know Larry Brown didn't give James, Wade, and Melo playing time in the Olympics, and it would be nice to see Darko get some playing time in the playoffs - depending how much confidence Brown has in him.

[Andrew]

I'm not expecting significant minutes throughout the Pistons' postseason run, but maybe there's a chance he'll play a few more minutes here and there as opposed to racking up DNP-CDs every game.

[fgrep15]

Anyone watch the game, nice no look pass, showed some post moves, after showing his inside game, stepped out hitting 20+ foot jumpers, flexed when he went on the bench, and all in one night's work.

He's part of their future if they want it to be bright...

[air gordon]

i can't wait to see jared reiner get his 2nd career start tomorrow vs the pacers

[Matt]

Go Darko!!! I wonder what he will bust out against Charlotte (?)

I wonder how much time he would have gotten if Rasheed wasn't injured? Either way, if it was playoffs, injury or no injury Sheed would be playing.

I don't expect Darko to rack up many minutes in the playoffs....20mins tops. I mean, Brown bench will be Hunter & McDyess as the main minute getters and if they play Miami Campbell will rack minutes up. Arroyo probably will get what Mike James got last season, which wasn't all that much. Essentially, Brown will use 8 players

[SkipToMy_Lou]

WOW! see if he was at a poor team then he would be a solid contributor...

[beau_boy04]

If i were him I'd demand a trade IF AND ONLY IF I know im the shit. He already got a ring from last year so I guess its time for him to get himself away from the Pistions and get some real exposure.

[Doobie]

hmmmm darko has potential . i wouldn't be surprised if he averages numbers like that for a full season.Anyways not many of you will care but in my franchise i simulated 10 seasons and i dont know exact stats i know they were close. Anyways after his contract was up in detroit he went to raptors and played C off the bench along side Bosh. the game is espn nba 2k5 .

4 seasons with the raptors.
1-7 ppg , 6 rpg , 2 apg
2-8.5 ppg , 6 rpg , 1 apg
3-13 ppg 7 rpg , 3 apg (finally moved up to 6th man)
4-14 ppg 6 rpg 2 apg (still 6th man , i think he won it that year)

after toronto , he went to the cavs , where he started.
3 seasons with cavs.
1-15 ppg 8 rpg 3 apg
2-15 ppg 9 rpg 2 apg
3-19 ppg 10 rpg 4 apg (this is where i got up to , i can imagine its his breakout year. pretty good numbers.)

yea i wrote all this down so we can compare if he will really average these numbers??

[The X]

I think he'll struggle being matched up against Okafor as 'Meka is a lot stronger and better than anything the Hawks had....but I'm hoping he does well....go Darko

[Matt]

Ben Wallace will eat Emeka up!!!

The Darko situation is interesting...when it's time to renew his contract R&B Wallace and McDyess will still be around. I'm pretty confident that Ben won;t be traded at all, but Rasheed or McDyess might be gone in 2 or so seasons to make room for Darko pending his improvement. It all depends though, I'm expecting this to be Brown's last season, so a new coach might give Darko some time next year.

[In_Ya_Face]

i'm very interested what will be tonight against the bobcats

[iG®]

Brown is playing with the kid.He plays 7,8 minutes in one game and then he doesn't play 10 games at all.If I am a coach,I would let him to play 10-15 per game...But I'm not obviously...

Go D !

[Rip32]

Good game for him, I just heard on the radio last week that Larry wanted to leave him and Delfino off the playoff roster but Joe D wouldnt let him. Now i guess he should play too maybe...

[Fresh8]

Larry Brown is known for benching his rookies... so it's not the Pistons' fault but it's Brown's fault. Del Fino and Darko are gonna be a good duo in two seasons when they get PT. Noone had any doubts about Darko's skills... its just whether he was gonna get to play!

[Null17]

he just scored 9 against charlotte. no one really scored more than 13 points on the team though. they lost by eleven.

[Matt]

everyone got to play though

despite this loss, Detroit rolls in on a high into the playoffs once again.

[John WB]

How do they lose to the Bobcats? That's pathetic.

[Andrew]

Three of their regular starters didn't play, Prince and Wallace played less than half a game and the win wasn't that important. That and the Bobcats have one of the better rosters for an expansion club in recent times.

[Matt]

that;s 2 losses to the Bobcats this season