I've been following the Darko saga for longer than anyone. Up front, I want him to fail and I want the Magic to fail so we get a better pick. The only way Darko will escape my criticism is if he leaves the Magic as a free agent. I can live with that.

Anyways, since he's the ultimate message board topics, let's cover Darko first and the Pistons second.

Darko was everything he was built up to be. He was an incredible +/- impact when he was on the court. The Magic play differently when he was in. Defensively, they perform at a high level. Darko also rebounded well.

Offensively, Darko is what Darko is. He's a 4th or 5th piece, he's very mobile but not very intelligent about where to space himself.

I am not sad about losing this player at all. For every plus there is an equal minus. His only asset is his youth. Once he grows up, he'll have to make big strides if he wants to live up to the hype. Right now, he's a young, very mobile Shawn Bradley.

Magic/Darko fans here have revised their opinion of him so many times, it's not funny. 2 years ago, he was a devastating offensive weapon. Now he is a devastating defensive weapon. All I see is a really tall athlete with not a lot of court sense.

Pistons played well. I was kinda sad that Sheed couldn't score in bunches once he got ticked off, we might have to invoke the Howard rules and beat that kid up in the paint if he thinks he's gunna be a Shaq style bully. Make him earn it at the line like Shaq.

Billups played his second strong game. A few slips into bad decision, I wanna be a shooting guard Chauncey, but mostly under control and very aggressive in the paint. I don't know what he finished with, but at 9one point he had 5 boards which is really good for him.

Tay was really disappointing jacking up so many long jumpers. He's not an off the dribble shooter. Catch and shoot, he can be devastating. I think his game with the ball is vastly overrated outside the post.

Flip Murray continues to find a groove. He's still very slow and non-chalant, definitely not a hustle or energy type player, but when he gets going, he can score.

Jason Maxiell came in and got two fouls on Darko that chased him to the bench. It was very important because the Pistons were struggling to score with Darko in the game. Other than that, and a dunk, Max didn't contribute much. He needs a lot more playing time to get comfortable out there on defense.

That's all I can remember until I watch it again. Good game. We made them play at a pace that favours us on the road.

Now let's rested up!