A lot of people were against DMC last year. To be honest, it was a rational opinion, you've got a HOF, Championship Coach, saying the kid aint ready, he's immature, ect. On the other hand you've got a lot of people who still believed the pre-draft Chad Ford, Darko greatest future Center ever, hype. Who needs Carmelo or Dwayne, Darko will save us. I know its preseason, but saw this stat in an article, checked last years leaders, and was dumbfounded. Darko, may not be the saviour, but he certainly wont be a bust. And I wont be calling any new members band wagon ass cats. "Detroit's Darko Milicic blocked a game high 6 shots tonight. After 7 preseason games, Milicic has 22 blocks (3.14 bpg)." 2004-5 Block leaders: Name...........MPG......BPG...Bp48M Theo Ratliff...31.3......3.61....5.53 Ben Wallace..37.7......3.04....3.87 Andre Kirilenko 37.1....2.76....3.56 Tim Duncan....36.6.....2.68....3.51 Marcus Camby 30.0....2.60....4.15 Darko Preseason:21.4..3.14...7 point freaking OH four
Blocks per 48 minutes Chuck Nevitt had 8.08 blocks per 48 minutes in his first season with the Pistons.
My take I'm not joining any HOF clubs. I will say, though, that I think the kid is legit. He really can do some things on the basketball court that are unusual for someone his size. There will be some growing pains this year that I hope everyone's ready for-and they'll be harder to deal with during a real game (ie not a preseason exhibition). But I'm glad Joe didn't make the Harrington deal.
I agree that the Harrington deal would be a mistake... however I'm not ready to sign up for the HOF anytime in the near future... the kid really needs to improve his BB instincts. By that I mean getting to loose balls... agressively going after rebounds (and finishing)... some of this will come with repetition but it's not happening as we speak today. Look at Ben or Sheed as your main "big" contributors.. maybe Darko will show the moxy required to be a winner soon enough. Before we talk HOF ... let's talk about getting past 1st base.
I like Darko too. But I'm with T Bird & Mercury on this one. He'll have his moments this year...bad, good, and a few great ones too.
darko-meter ladder according to basketballreference.com he hasn't registered any HOF points yet. only 135 to go as a likely candidate. he still has to prove himself as better than 'similar players' such as: Reggie Smith Rich King and Brett Szabo i think we should start a darko-meter ladder. we list players who played the same position, and as darko gets better he moves up this ladder. ladder: 1. Wilt Chamberlain 2. Bill Russell 3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 4. Shaquille O'Neal ....... 70. Rik Smits ....... 120. Luc Longley ....... 130. Dan Gadzuric 131. Nenad Krstic 132. Primoz Brezec 133. Darko Milicic I fully expect him to move up to around 120 by the end of this season. feel free to add to/debate this darko-meter ladder...
16andFarmington, I gotta give you props. You were the one guy in Darko's corner who was not drooling endlessly about jumpers, 3 point range or being the greatest passing big man ever. From day 1, you had Darko pegged as a defensive contributor. And you were right. I'm with DT, Merc and TBird. In hindsight I am happy Joe didn't make the Harrington deal (although I really wanted him to at the time). Want great things for Darko as long as he is a Piston, but I'll confine myself to being a fan rather than a fanatic.
No Bad Boy Billy? I am adding Bad Boy Billy somewhere in the top 30 for sure. You can't rate him strictly on his numbers, which weren't half bad anyway. But is intensity, competitiveness in my mind were not too far below Zeke's which is saying an awfully lot.
C'mon man, give in to the Dark(o) side and join me as an optimistic slappy. 133...Darko's got a LONG way to go and its obvious. WE'll see a lot of growing pains this year and next year too. But I like his attitude. I like the little tantalizing tidbits of ability he shows here and there. As long as he remains a piston, I'd like to see him go all the way. I'm being indulgent honestly and will remain so until he proves (beyond a shadow of a dobut) that he's not.
I guess Darko isn't racking up any Hall of Fame points for his preseason play? I sent in my application for the DHOF club last year but I forgot to put a stamp on it. I am very happy to see Darko playing so well. He owes a big thank you to Larry Brown for developing him into the player he is today.
ESPN top 2005 Centers: 1. S. O'neal 2. A. Stoudemire 3. C. Bosh (are they out of their minds0 4. B. Wallace (should be 3) 5 Y. Ming 6. M. Camby 7. D. Howard 8. J.magloire 9. B. Miller 10. Z. Ilgauskas 11. Eddy Curry 12. A. Bogut 13. Lorenzen Wright 14. Samuel Dalembert 15. Jerome James First, that list is awful, but by the end of the season Darko should be at least 8, ahead of Magloire, and I'd put him 6, ahead of M. Camby, but I think D. Howard is going to get off this year, so my prediction is DMC at #7 to end the year, on his way to eventual top 3 (definately ahead of Bosh).
I hope Bosh plays a lot at C this year so Yahoo will make him eligable. Then I can get rid of Theo "all I do is block" Ratliff.
he owes lb a big muck you for stunting his development and costing us a title last year. i wish we had unleashed the serbian swat machine in game 7 instead of tay at power forward. it's ok. the dhof is a limited time offer. all members joining after his first big season will be considered bandwagon jumpers. people are always downplaying what he does, first it was the atlanta game didnt' count, then serbian national team wasn't agains nba talent, now he's dogging true nba talent and people are using the excuse it's only preseason. one day you will all see that darko is the truth and it will be too late to join.
It will never be too late to join. There is no time limit on being a fan or changing ones mind. "I told ya so's" are for people seeking validation. I've been following the Pistons for 2 decades. As far as I am concerned, other people's opinions of my validity as a fan are meaningless. Some of us have just been around long enough to know that players come and players go. Some become all-stars and some blow out their knees. The only constant is the Pistons. I am, and always will be a Pistons fan whether they are last in the league, or NBA champs.
I hate flaky fans. My neighbor was wearing all this pistons gear after we beat the Lakers, and when we lost to the Spurs, guess what he was wearing
bballjay Now come on bballjay at least you can give LB credit for this? How do you think Darko developed into the player he is? Hours and hours of nitpicking by Lary in practice. He came in as an undisciplined kid who should have still been in high school and is emerging as a solid NBA player. Those things don't happen by magic. Or do you think Flip developed him in the preseason? Not likley. The LB Hall of Fame club doesn't exist because he's already in the Hall of Fame. Darko just showing a flicker of NBA life at this point...a long way from the status of an honored Hall of Famer like Brown.
I feel you himat. I especially love people that are fans of like Detroit and Toronto in hockey or the Lions and the Bears in football or the Pistons and the Lakers. I'm sorry, but that's against the rules. You can't like 2 teams that hate each other. I have a girl at work that is just like that. She'll name like 4 of her "favourite" teams from every single league. Usually they're the last 4 Championship winners in that sport. That's ok, I won $20 from a bet I had with her between the Stones and the Heat last playoffs. She has a thing for Shaq "Man boobs" O'Neal. I've been a Lions fan all my life, so that should tell all you need to know about my loyalties. Not to mention give you a glimpse into my mental state.
