MoTown, I agree, it is impossible to separate the Magic from Darko. Inasmuch as we should EXPECT Jameer and Dwight to improve and maybe Grant to get back to some form of early Grant Hill, the main thing that will make the most difference as to whether or not the Magic improve to any form of contending status would be the improvement of DMC to his place as one of the building blocks of the Magic. That 'building block' description is not my description, but that of the Magic brass and press. Of course, we are not contending that DMC will be the only reason. There are JJ, Ariza and Hedo who are important, but I think that many of those either for or against Darko will agree with that statement. The non-believers will be betting that he does not and they do not, but they can agree that the two are interrelated. As to the helping of "first NBA points", Darko did get assists on the ones mentioned. Ben, if he threw the ball to any rookie, it was probably a failed shot attempt . Just joshin' with you. I was a Ben fan, too. Remember, I wanted him to stay long enough to come off the bench behind Darko.
Here is the list Jay: Tim Duncan Dwight Howard Rasheed Wallace Ben Wallace Kevin Garnett Dirk Nowitzki Amare Stoudemire Yao Ming Shaq Nenad Krstic Chris Bosh Jermaine Oneal Marcus Camby Andrei Kirilenko Carlos Boozer Zach Randolph Pau Gasol Zydrunas Ilgauskas Elton Brand Chris Kaman Emeka Okafor Antawn Jamison Andrew Bogut David West Memo
And those are the obvious ones. I'll add... Andris Biedrins Troy Murphy Brad Miller Boris Diaw Zach Randolph Charlie Vlinanueva David Lee Al Harrington Zaza Pachulia Al Harrington to that list.
Uh, Orlando is an extremely DEEP team, they have a ton of depth. Grant Hill has missed two games this year, BOTH GAMES were BLOWOUT WINS for the Magic. They are very deep. Their worst depth is at the PF/C spot however and if they lose Dwight Howard they are in a bit of trouble, BUT I think that Battie and Darko would fill in until Dwight could come back and they would do a pretty good job. They wouldn't be as great as they have been early on but they would still be a good basketball team.
so basically no he hasn't. deferring is different than creating shots for other players. darko makes his teammates better thats a sign of a star. bens man probably double teamed a lot of players to hinder them from making thier first points.
i'll give you 13. but for the rest. more of a small forward: Andrei Kirilenko Antawn Jamison Boris Diaw Charlie Vlinanueva Al Harrington better but got locked up head to head: Emeka Okafor Jermaine Oneal Kevin Garnett bad team good stats: David West more experienced but being better is debatable: Ben Wallace Nenad Krstic Zydrunas Ilgauskas Marcus Camby Andrew Bogut Chris Kaman David Lee Zaza Pachulia Andris Biedrins Troy Murphy Brad Miller darko is a top 10 big man defender in this league. i think this list was offensively biased. most of these players are just waiting to get owned by darko. head to head darko has matched up well with big man stars. i think people put too much emphasis on stats too. darko is playing 20 minutes and he's like the 3rd to 4th option on the team. he's also being forced to play out of comfort zone by his coach.
Not saying that...I'm simply saying thats something you would track if you are grasping for straws to show relevence.
How does Orlando talk become Darko speak? Howard & Hill monopolize most stats and Darko gets fictitious credit for taking down most NBA premier big men after less than 15 games? Am I missing something important here?
Mo...there's something about bballjay that hypnotically makes you want to believe him...then you wake up in a cold sweat thanking the Almighty that Darko is no longer a Piston.
you are missing the games. you are only looking at the stats. it's not fictional darko did own several premier big men. they just simply couldn't score on him. if you want a stat look at darko's blocks. he plays 20 minutes a game and is in the top 10 of the league. when darko comes in the paint is shut down.that's a big plus for a team to bring in 1 guy and the paint gets shut down. just like when you talk miami you have to talk shaq & wade, kobe and the lakers, lebron and cleveland. darko is part of a 3 headed monster that will terrorize the east for years to come. darko, d. howard and jameer. it's not just me saying it it's the magic brass that is including darko in the plans for the future. darko gets most of the talk here because he's forever connected to the pistons. whether he plays good or not will most effect whether we get a good pick or not. the others that can effect us is dependent on injury because they are known commodity. .
yes. the combo of dale davis and nazr really looks promising to carry us deep into the playoffs for years to come. watching nazr foul people without making a play on the ball makes me sweat. you don't have to believe me now. darko will own our big men in the coming weeks. you can see it first hand the impact that he has on the game.
He's awesome. Big man that blocks shots, doesn't rebound well (5.4 a game), shoots a mediocre field goal pct for a big and shoots horribly from the line (50%). Absolutely awesome! Did I mention he's a good shot blocker? Is there a Hall of Fame for shotblocking?
Darko's current season stats (averages): 0 games started 21 mins 7.7 points 5.4 rebs 1.1 ast 1.6 TO .7 steals 2.1 blocks 3 fouls Nazr's current season stats (averages): 14 games started 20 mins 6.9 points 5.9 rebs .1 ast 1.1 TO .8 steals 1.2 blocks 3.5 fouls
I think you are supposed to look at the stats, and then forget what you see. Or maybe you are supposed to forget to look at the stats and just wing it.
You are hardly doing justice by only mentioning Darko's excellent defensive work in the interior. The fact is, Darko constantly flies out at people on the perimeter and is very successful at altering those shots too. Also, to back you up a bit, someone below puts up Mohammed's vs. Darko's numbers this season. Here is a telling stat though. How many games has the coach let Mohammed finish? None I believe. And how many 4th quarters has Mohammed been in this year. Very few. This last game, Mohammed was done 4 minutes into the 2nd half, and that is getting to be the usual. Meanwhile, we are, as you mention, seeing Darko own one big after another and therefore staying out there more and more in the 4th quarter, playing entire 4th quarters as of late. O'Neal in particular looked like a midget trying to either defend or score on Darko.
My eyes are beginning to glaze over again and I'm getting very, very sleepy...something must be affecting me.
