forseti-6

It's about mid-season and I'm curious on you thoughts so far on Darko Milicic. Of the top 3 picks in last years draft, Lebron and Carmelo are both doing great. Lebron doing much better than I thought actually. But Darko seems to be having a lot of trouble adjusting to the American game. I don't know all the details about his lack of playing time, but I'm sure he isn't getting much because he isn't playing good. Averaging just 3.2 minutes a game, he has put up veritually zeros. He has a .333 fg% and an ever worse ft %. So my question is, how is he progressing? I remember pre-draft a lot of people compared him to Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk struggled his first year as well, but put up "ok" numbers still. Albeit he was 2 years older than what Darko is right now. Thoughts?

__________________
"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." - Dr. Seuss

gov135

You are right to say we truly won't know for years.

However, it appears that James and Anthony will be perennial all-stars, so Darko is gonna have alot to live up to. I won't claim to be an authority on anything related to the NBA, but I do know that years from now Darko will be compared to those he was drafted with.

Mojo_PeiPei

Darko is physically not developed enough to play in the NBA right now. Plus the European style of play is way different. I'd say give him a year or two to develop his game, its obvious that this was a long term investment from day 1, lets see if it will pay off.

__________________
To win a war you must serve no master but your ambition.

Nimbletoe

I still think we should have drafted Melo. Prince is way inconsistent this year, and if the pistons had a hardcore scorer, they'd have a completely solid team. The only way i'd change my mind is if Darko really starts improving. Dumars said he'd be ready by the end of the year to start playing, but I somehow doubt that.

__________________
Go Pistons!

jasonresno

To say Darko is having problems would not be an accurate assumption. It isn't that he isn't playing well, it just is he isn't getting his time. He has big Ben in front of him also....so yeah in a few years Milicic will be a beast

sixate

Darko will never be as good as Melo. Never ever in a million years. The only chance that Darko has to be a better player than Melo is if Melo has an accident and loses a leg. The Pistons made one of the worst draft decisions of all time.... They will regret it for years to come.

Bookman

AGREED.

They were just gambling on Darko being another Dirk..

foolio7714

And he doesn't have a coach that has the patience to give him playing time.

Mojo_PeiPei

Big Ben does not factor in at all. In fact its because of Big Ben that they want Darko, cause Big Ben has no offensive skills, so Darko would give them that.

__________________
To win a war you must serve no master but your ambition.

Bookman

I think that Detroit made the mistake of using THEORY as their dominant criteria for making the choice. THEORY as in talent, skill and productivity To Be Determined. While Melo showed the world that his potential is great and only partially exposed in the NCAA...what did Melo do in Europe? Dominated? Well so do most NBA rejects. My point is that Melo would have helped the Pistons lead the EAST in record and overall ratings.
I dont think it was a great idea to build on the future..soon Ben and crew will be gone/finished and Darko? will remain.

Artermis

You all are so far off on what is going on.

They drafted Darko for two years from now. Not this year and not even really next year.

Word is that he is coming along nicely and should see some more playing time by the end of the year.

Dumars is the smartest GM in the league. He sees the big picture (down the road) and not just selling things out this year. Joe has said repeatedly that he does not think that this team is capable of winning a championship but in two years when Darko is ready he will lift them up.

SF are a dime a dozen in this league. PF and Centers who have the complete game are very rare indeed.

So lets give Joe the benefit of the doubt and see what he has in store for this team.

Anthony would have been fine in Detroit but if they had picked him where do they play Prince? Prine is going to be a good player but there is not enough minutes to give them both.

Two years Detroit will have the best team in the leauge with Okfur, Wallace, Darko, Prince, Hamilton and Billups as their top 6 guys.


Art

powerclown

Darko is 'on ice' for the time being, according to Joe Dumars.

I don't think the Pistons would be wasting their time with him if they didnt think he had potential. Or, maybe theyre just saving him for a trade.

The only thing I can say for sure, is that the few times the Pistons have played him, he's not looked like anything special. But the Pistons line is that he will be a great center once he gets a little more experience (he's 18).

Mojo_PeiPei

No question he has potential, hell he was professional sports players at the age of 14. He just needs to physical develop, and gear his game to what a 4-5 plays in America.

__________________
To win a war you must serve no master but your ambition.

sixate

Are you kidding me? Melo i not a dime a dozen..... But Tayshaun Prince is!

How can the Pistons ever expect a guy with the last name of Prince to be tough anyway?

I'm willing to bet that Darko and Tayshaun combined don't amount to what Melo will be. Again, the Pistons made one of the worst draft decisions of all time.

AL9045

Not much to say about Darko.

Hasn't really done anything. .

Vespertine

The guy looks confused anytime he takes the court. That coupled with the fact they never play him, he's not going to turn any heads anytime soon. I bet he's wondering why he bothered a lot of nights.

grumpyolddude

Carmello Anthony would have been another Rodney White in Detroit.... no defense = no playing time.
Dumars said on draft day that Darko was a gamble for two years down the road. The local media has been frying JD's nibblets all season about it, but Larry Brown keeps letting Ben Wallace pound on the kid in practice, toughening him up.
Joe Dumars is smart. He could see other teams (Lakers, Mavericks) loading up for a one-shot run. Joe wants a multi-year dominance. Carmello was NOT the guy for that. Detroit's building from the inside- out. If scoring ends up being the final hurdle, a gunslinger like Carmello, or Antoine Walker, or Paul Pierce can be plugged in to finish the squad.

__________________
"Regret can be a harder pill to swallow than failure .With failure you at least know you gave it a chance..." David Howard

Bookman

The funniest thing about this thread is the support for Joe Dumars and his HOPE. You all hope along with him that Darko will be that DUDE. The Pistons had a shot at emerging from the East this year. All that talent but no heart category includes: Van Horn & La Frentz. Melo has more desire and heart than this Darko will ever have.
But only time will tell the truth.

Artermis

Dumars has given Piston fans hope. He turned around a terrible team and made it to the Eastern Finals two straight years without enough talent to win it all. He is building the team for the long haul. I would be a Knicks fan if I thought everything had to be today.

How do you know how much desire and heart Darko has? Do you know him personally?

Letting Wallace pound on him in practice can only toughen him up and get him to where he needs to be.

Your right only time will tell.


Art

Artermis

I copied this from Detroitsportsrag.com from the site creator Jeff Moss and it is a free site. I think he says it pretty well.

It is funny that the Detroit media didn't mention this story at all. Maybe it would get in the way of their Darko-Carmelo angle that they love to play.

But everything isn't peaches and cream in Denver for Carmelo and the Nuggets. It seems that Denver coach Jeff Bzdelik isn't thrilled with Anthony's defense, his shot selection and his sometimes soft and careless play. As a matter of fact, Bzdelik almost BENCHED Carmelo last week.

Well, that is strange considering how all we ever hear is how wonderful Carmelo is. If you don't believe me, read these quotes:Carmelo: "The outlook I have on basketball is totally different from where he's thinking. A player like me, and I think also all five of the players who are starting, they want to get up and down the floor. We want to be free. With this type of coach, he wants to be demanding. And what he wants done, he wants it right when he says to do it." Hey Carmelo, that coach has your team on pace to make the playoffs in the West.

Bzdelik: "I sat down with Carmelo behind closed doors, man to man. I told him why I limited his minutes, and why I am asking him to do more. I backed it up with the videotape. It was very revealing. The tape doesn't lie. The videotape machine is the truth box, as (former NBA all-star) Alonzo Mourning used to call it." I guess the truth box shows that Anthony DOESN'T PLAY DEFENSE. I am sure that Carmelo would be playing over Tayshaun Prince in Detroit. Do you think Carmelo could force Vince Carter to miss 11 straight shots? How do you think Anthony's act would play with Larry Brown?

Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe: "Carmelo is frustrated because his coach is upset with him."Before you start writing your "At least Carmelo plays while Darko sits on the bench" e-mail just remember my point all along has been that Anthony is overrated and not some sort of savior.

All Anthony will ever be is the next Glenn Robinson and because of that, I will take my chances with Milicic.

Maybe we will start referring to Carmelo as the Big Dog, Jr. on the DSR.

Oh, and Carmelo's box score from Wednesday night against the Shaq and Kobe-less Lakers: 14 points, 4-17 FG, 4 Reb, 1 Ast.

Maybe that bench will be in Big Dog, Jr.'s future after all.

I stole this from another site but it is nonpay.


Art

Bookman

The difference is that the Big Dog has lost his bite.
Give Melo a chance before you lump him with the Dog.

Artermis

That is all we are asking about Darko...



Art

sixate

Melo's D is soft right now, but he's a rookie, and he will get better on that end. He's a huge reason the Nuggets are having success, and if his coach would actually be dumb enough to bench him I'd be willing to bet that he wouldn't have a job. Melo is better than Glenn Robinson right now, and he's only gonna get better. Darko isn't even as good as Kurt Rambis.

BTW, Glenn Robinson averages just over 20 points, a little over 6 boards a game for his career, shoots over 45% from the field, and over 80% from the line for his career....

Come talk to me when Darko surpasses those statistics.
Melo is already there.

grumpyolddude

Nice, Artermis. Too many observers don't seem to understand that Cleveland and Denver were dealing from an empty hand. They needed a big name/ big splash rookie to draw attendance. Detroit has a solid nucleus and could invest for the future.

Winning 80-79 isn't sexy. Holding all but 2 opponents to sub-100 points doesn't make Sport Center.

New England just showed the sporting world how to win as a TEAM, not as a couple of stars with a supporting cast. Joe Dumars is doing the same thing with the Pistons.

__________________
"Regret can be a harder pill to swallow than failure .With failure you at least know you gave it a chance..." David Howard

sixate

Here's what you're forgetting. The Pistons almost made the finals last year... Almost.

They did not get better during the off season. Why? Because they wasted a draft pic on a guy they hope will pan out. They needed a guy who would put them over the top. They had that chance, and blew it. The Nuggets picked up a lot of players in the off season, and along with Melo they have become a really good team. Do you think if the Nuggets and Pistons switched from West to East and East to West respectively that the Pistons would be the team with a better record? I think not. Unfortunately, we'll never know.

While we're talking about guys who can't play D..... Rip Hamilton!
And right now Melo has better stats than him. Just think if the Pistons had Chauncey, Rip, and Melo in the starting line up. Melo is twice as good as Tayshaun. The reason the Pistons don't have a chance to win it all is because they don't have enough guys who can score.
Wallace guarding the middle makes Rip and Prince look better than what they are on D.

In a couple of years they could lose guys to free agency, If you have a chance to get better you have to do it now.

cactus_bangers

guys, darko isnt supposed to be carmelo 2.0. he's not supposed to be a huge scorer or team swingman. he's there to fit into Detroit's defensive mindset. darko will most likely be a post player...hitting the glass, making some blocks, drawing double teams, and maybe averaging in the low teens in points every night. if he can do that, then detroit's pick will turn out to be very wise.

they really couldnt have drafted carmelo, since they already took a shot on prince. they knew carmelo was good....but if prince turned out to be good as well, everyone would be saying they wasted their pick on carmelo. too bad that prince is turning out okay, but is still captain inconsistency.

Bigt6909

Alright after reading all of the posts I feel that I can respond. First of all Darko doesn't play... hardly at all. I'm a HUGE piston fan, and I know that he is going to be used for the future. I as many of you thought the pistons were going to draft Melo, however looking at what he does on defense does not make him compatible with the pistons. The pistons are a tough team defensively. That's what they are known for, they aren't known for scoring 115 points like the MAV's or anything like that. For those of you that think that Prince isn't a good defender look at the past 4 games and look who he has shut down. Then remember the series vs orlando, and then vs the 76er's think about how well he played... overall.
He seems to be inconsitent this year but so has the whole team... it doesn't matter if he is consistent right now because of the depth that the pistons have sitting on the bench. If you look at all of the piston games you will most likely see the bench scoring battle go to the pistons...

__________________
Beer. Now there's a temporary solution. --Homer Simpson

JRG

Its pretty obvious a lot of these nay-sayers against Darko really don't know squat about the Pistons. They are a defensive team and they all rely on one another for backup on the defensive end and on offense they aren't selfish. You put in a pure scorer/superstar/rookie into that mix who takes all the shots it messes everything up. Plus, Prince is a genuine baller. He can shoot, dunk, throw peoples shots, and play aggresive defense, so who needs melo? Darko is going to be a great player. He is on a team with lots of expierence to help him along and also in a situation where he doesnt have all the pressure to perform like lebron and melo. Once big ben is done with the pistons they will just have another star Center ready to step up. I think the pick was brillant for the Pistons and im calling them to go to the finals this year and if they face anyone but the lakers they will win it.

degrawj

i haven't seen him play enough to make a concrete decision. but, considering his place in the draft last year, he sure isn't living up to my expectations.