Darko Watch

Oh it's on you're down by 8 pages though.

Edit: Shit, 7 pages. I can't believe I helped the Darko Thread.

We'll win. The Darko Phenom is way more attractive for bandwagonners than Bogut is.

The whole Darko thing is the only occasion in my life that I didn't hop on the bandwagon, but I was there the whole time. I made my parents proud.

Maybe so, but I post 15 times a day. I'm happy to make 10 of them in the Bogut thread.

Oh-oh, now you think you're the only one around here with DSL and plethora of spare time?

I dont think he will ever be Nowitzki...i hope he does but i cant see it happening

I think next season look for him to be in the top 5 in the league for Blocks

That Magic frontcourt is gunna be a good one for many years to come with Howard and Darko both talented and both so young

and LOL @ the Bogut V Darko thread

You're right. What have I been thinking. Darko will never be as good as Nowitzki. He'll be frikking BETTER. KG with muscles and clutchness! He'll save the world, kill babies with AIDS and rape Paris Hilton so hard that she won't enjoy it!

VanK: what'chu smoking dude? LOL

Darko is gonna be an awesome shot blocker. I saw bits of some of the magic games, and I noticed hes quite hungry, he was taking 21 footers regularly.
By the end of the season, he will be averagin 10 and 8 and 3 blocks with the magic

Darko gets 11 & 4 and 2bpg in games where he plays 20+ mins. (excluding LAL game). Not bad.

Once again, he kept the fouls low, which will keep him on the court.

I also like how he fits in with Dwight. DH12 mans the post and Darko perfectly complements him with his passing and outside/inside game. He'll be able to stretch the D with his jumper and will make life a whole lot of easier for Howard. He's already a better defender than Dwight is (anyone who has seen past three games wont object that. He hustles, is the cause of opponent's turnovers and blocks like crazy, both weakside in man-to-man blocking. He should get stronger, though and should not leave his player as much as he does. During the Houston game, he left Howard open a lot and he used that for jumpers. But he did get one blocked, though.) and that should only improve. I still don't know what to think about his rebounding. He has decent fundamentals. He boxes his man out and while he's still not getting ton of rebounds, he's doing a decent job tipping the ball out of opponents hands out to the perimeter, which I like because it's just a matter of time when he starts actually pulling down all those balls. His last game (vs. Lakers) also meant a huge improvement while he was much more agressive on the boards.

Magic's Milicic meshing well with Howard
By John Denton, Florida Today

ORLANDO — The Orlando Magic quickly reversed the ball from one side of the court to the other, catching the Houston Rockets defense out of position, and seemingly setting up Darko Milicic for an open 15-foot jump shot.

But just as the ball hit Milicic's hands, it was suddenly heading in another direction. Without even looking, Milicic's touch pass ended up in the hands of Magic center Dwight Howard, who finished the play with a dunk.

It was just one moment in the Magic's frantic fourth-quarter rally Sunday, but it did lend some insight into the enormous promise Orlando sees in the 7-foot Milicic. Despite not playing much the past two-plus seasons while buried on the bench in Detroit, Milicic has already shown the kind of instincts and heady play which have the Magic believing he can be the perfect complement to the bruising Howard. And the fact that he was willing to pass up a shot so that Howard could have an even better one from point-blank range is even more encouraging.

"Even after the first practice with us, you could tell that he just has such a great feel for the game," Magic coach Brian Hill gushed. "It's those types of plays where he sees how the defense is reacting and he's thinking one play ahead. He knows what the play is going to be even before the ball gets to him.

"That's priceless. Some guys, you can explain it and show them on tape all year long and they never get it. Others just see it and react instinctively."

One of the Magic's missions on the upcoming five-game, eight-day road trip that started Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Lakers is to ensure that Milicic's minutes continue to climb. Hill hopes to get the Serbian power forward, still learning the plays, to the point where he's using the instincts that the Magic are salivating over rather than having to think his way around the court.

Playing the first meaningful minutes of his NBA career, Milicic has been impressive in his three games since coming to Orlando in the Feb. 15 trade for Kelvin Cato. In 45 minutes of playing time, he's swatted six shots, grabbed eight rebounds and scored 14 points. He's been credited with only two assists, but many of his passes have set up Howard to get to the free-throw line.

Milicic says what he's accomplished so far is just a sliver of what's possible once he grows more comfortable with his new teammates and new surroundings.

"It's going to take some time. I can't just come in and be like Michael Jordan after three years of not playing," Milicic said. "It's still going to take time to get the feeling back, get my conditioning back, get everything back."

The Magic (20-35) are just 1-3 since acquiring Milicic and point guard Carlos Arroyo from the Detroit Pistons, but that record belies just how well the two have played. Arroyo, already a fan favorite because of his Puerto Rican heritage, has averaged 12 points and 3.3 assists.

More importantly, Arroyo has just two turnovers in 86 minutes so far and ranks fourth in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.86 to 1). That's been quite a difference compared to former point guard Steve Francis, who was traded to New York last Wednesday. Francis ranks third in the NBA in turnovers a game, and his assists had dipped to career-low proportions.

Hill took a veiled shot at Francis when he was talking about how smoothly the transition has been for Milicic and Arroyo.

"It's an interesting thing when you have two guys come in like Darko and Carlos who like to pass the ball," Hill said. "It's interesting how quickly everybody bonds and accepts them. Everybody sees they are here to try and win games, and it's not so much about individual accomplishments as it about how can we win and get better."

Hill said Monday that he has no plans to change his starting lineup, but that plan could soon change. For now, he likes starting Keyon Dooling for his defensive bpressure and bringing Arroyo off the bench. And as for Milicic, Hill wants the power forward on the floor as much as possible with Howard because of his willingness to pass and his ability to shoot from the high post.

Also, Hill said he wants to hold off making a switch at point guard until Jameer Nelson returns from his sprained midfoot. Nelson was the Magic's starter at point guard before he injured his foot Jan. 20, costing him the past 18 games. Nelson has been going through some drills of late and should be back at practice later this week. He could be back in the playing rotation by the end of the road trip.

Simply being in the rotation is a delight to Milicic, who played just 96 games in his first two-plus NBA seasons. He entered the league with much promise and hype when he was selected second overall in the 2003 NBA Draft. But because he was buried behind Ben and Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess, the only minutes he received were of the mop-up variety.

Though he went from one of the NBA's best teams in the Pistons to one of the worst in the Magic, Milicic looked at the trade as a reprieve. Finally, he said, he gets to can show what he can do on the court.

"I'm just really happy right now because the coach is giving me playing time in the fourth quarter, crunch-time minutes," he said. "I'm trying to give my best to show him how much I appreciate it and show him how much I want to play."

While most are just eager to see if Milicic can thrive against other top NBA players, the Magic are as equally interested to see how he coexists with Howard. If the two can play in tandem, it would give the Magic twin 20-year-old 7-footers along their front line. And so far, the results have been encouraging.

When Howard was double-teamed Friday against Seattle, he kicked the ball out to Milicic, who buried a 20-foot jumper from the top of the key. And Sunday's no-look touch pass from Milicic to Howard was a thing of beauty that showed what might be possible from the two for years to come.

"Teams are all focused on trying to stop Dwight because he's the key to our team, and that's why a lot of us are open," Milicic said. "I'm just trying to reward him when he's open. He works hard down there, and I want to get him the ball whenever I can.

"I've always been a good passer, and that's something I'm going to try and do the rest of the season. That's one of my best parts of my game."

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/magic/2006-02-28-darko_x.htm

if Darko continues to get PT, he will show what he can do........

maybe a fantasy breakout player in 2006-07

Milicic & Howard make a nice block & rebound combo. Howard is probably a top 5 rebounder in the league and Milicic will probably end up in the top 5 shot blockers.

I'm intrested in this "experiment" Orlando's doing atm just for the fact that they have the two arguably fastest bigmen in the NBA right now.

well Amare is faster than Howard, even as a combo they would be 2nd @best to the Phx pair.

You mean Amare&Marion against Dwight&Darko?

Edit:
does anybody read freedarko.com (http://freedarko.blogspot.com). It's not primarily about Darko, more about the idea it represented and it's probably one of the most intelligent NBA blogs around. I would especially recommend the comments section under each entry.

Edit 2:

The #1 shotblocker in the league today is Samuel Dalembert, who blocks 3.3 shots per game in 31.1 minutes per game.

In the past three games [first ones in Orlando he actually played some meaningfull (5+) minutes] Darko Milicic has recorded 3.0 BPG in 21.67 MPG.

I've ben tracking that site since last month or so... hilarious, albeit a bit foul-mouthed at times.

Darko is slowly gonna prove that he's not a bust. Could he even be the Magics franchise cornerstone? too early yet for that, but if Howard doesnt get that post game developed then anythings possible.

Darko had a sick game against the Lakers! 6 pts, 3 blocked shots, and 7 boards... tho he did have 3 TO, i think it was a pretty good showing... he got 24 minutes of PT as well.

I haven't really seen Darko play.. but from what I've read and some parts of games I've seen him in.. it seems that him and Howard can make quite an imposing outside inside Forward combo in the near future

Lol @ "sick game"... at least he's lowered everyone's expectations.

aye darko could play good if anybody let him start

he still sucks though, but yea sick game is a bit of an overstatment

come on double double!!! he has 12 and 9 but is on the bench

12pts, 9reb, throw in a couple of blocks and assists and i'd say thats a pretty fair game...not to mention 6/7 shooting from the floor