yes. i agree that would surely change a few people's opinion of him. i do however feel that the offense isn't really geared for a position type rebounder to get offensive rebounds from the center spot. often the center is at the elbow going towards the 3 point line when the shot goes up. that is not the best position to try to get offensive rebounds. still there are some offensive rebounds to be had like when the ball is swung to the other side. he should go after that. he has focused on being a defensive presence and that hasn't earned him minutes. i think focusing on being a rebounding force is the next thing to try. then after that maybe he should try my shot per minute method.
I think there's some truth in this. Attitude might help Darko more than effort, if he just decided to act like the dominant player on the floor. Let someone else set the screens -- get to the low block and yell for the ball until Arroyo gives it up. Run the break so hard they have to give it to him. Instigate some two-man stuff with Delfino, who seems to work better with Darko than anybody else. In other words, play greedy. Trouble is, I just don't think it's in him.
bball jay The putbacks would count as shots, and that might help with your suggestion. I am surely in favor of DMC putting up shots. That is the way a shooter gets his game going. If he misses and quits shooting, he never comes out of it. You know the saying, "A shooter has no conscience". I think DMC plays too much of a team game, looking for the open man. That is supposed to be Pistons' DNA, but it does not work for this Piston. Look at the props JMax gets, because he is always hoisting them. In that earlier game I just found on my videotape, the one of the Piston/Nugget game of two years ago, DMC was getting the pass and immediately putting up the shot, back to the basket, and scoring. But through all the tumultous times since, he seems to have lost the urgency. Imagine the player he would be today if he had been shown what was wanted from him and then letting him work through the problems and show what he had learned. The forums would be agreeing "It's all good". What a waste.
hi lazy, absolutely, Darko was a better player the day we got him. I believe anyone who bothered to watch tape on the guy from the first month he played for us would have to agree. His offensive skills were sharp. His comfort level for playing in the game was fine. His fundamentals were excellent. What Darko has lost in the past two years of not playing is his comfort level in the game. This is something that will only come with playing time. Of course, he has also not been able to gain any NBA experience, guarding any actual NBA players during this time. Whatever reasons Flip is finding to extend this silliness, I wish he would stop soon. Darko needs to play. The Pistons need him to play. I will say it right now, very clearly, this club can't get past either Miami nor SA without Darko playing in the rotation this year. If we pick up Elden Campbell for the playoffs, we can get past Miami without Darko. But still we will not get past SA without Darko getting some minutes defending Duncan.
The day we got Darko, he couldn't even stop Ben in the post. He was just a scrawny kid with potential. No doubt, he was a more comfortable offensive player, but his defensive ability has grown immensly under the tutelage of Detroit's bigs and its coaches.
well there was another interview om 1130 with flip taoday he said darko is working hard in practice now.
I'm not saying DD can do a great job on Shaq or Duncan but Darko unless he improves ten-fold will be nothing but 6 fouls to use just like DD.So he is not an intregal piece for us come playoff time period. Maybe he will break into the rotation or be used during the playoffs but he isn't the one that will hold this team back or put it over the edge.Check your sugar bowl,whatever you put on your wheaties was tainted.Darko needs to show what he can do whenever he is in and he hasn't.Flip's rotations and substitutions may be questionable but you can't argue with the record. Maybe the Lions success has soured me just show me the money Darko.Otherwise I give up hope you get nothing in return.
maybe you didn't see darko swatting shots like crazy in the preseason. he plays good one on one defense too. he also already played shaq, zo, dikembe ( not a good offensive example, but he did block his shot after a confrontation with dikembe) rather well. darko playing 2 minutes against duncan last year could have gave us the title. i think the one thing that is rolling for darko right now is his defense. but you might be correct that he may be just six fouls but against shaq, duncan, j oneal you may just need those six fouls. darko has already shown that he can be a defensive presence. now i guess it's just time to bring it on O and on the boards.
preseason? How's it going Bball? Seems you are seriously clinging to those preseason performances for dear life with your boy Darko... It would be wise NOT to invest too much into those preseason showings pal. I too was happy with his preseason showing but he's got to bring it consistently. This stupid attitude that he doesn't or shouldn't have to pay dues goes against everything a real Detroit Piston is about (blue collar, gritty, hard working guys). The boy needs to smarten up soon or be gone....
darko was playing consistently in the preseason because flip was playing him consistently. is mo evans paying dues?? is dale davis paying dues?? did sheed have to pay dues when he came?? did arroyo have to pay dues when he came?? 2 years on the bench i would say darko has paid his dues. what else does he have to do to pay his dues?? he's as confused as i am about what he needs to do to get playing time. dale davis sure isn't outplaying him. mo evans is making mistake after mistake. mcdyess couldn't hit the side of a barn early in the season. sheed coasted many times last year. sheed doesn't rebound as well as he could. if these guys get free passes cause they are vets. why draft players if you aren't going to give them a chance to play?? we are wasting millions on darko making him pay his dues. he should be on the court getting some money back on our investment in him. he shouldn't be taught a lesson or whatever flip thinks he's doing. darko flat out outplays dale davis and should be getting those 4th big minutes.
Hopefully he gets a good amount of floor time on christmas. By then I should be out of this Sith Mind control. :ballchain *Hey Bball Jay, Flip mentioned Darko did well in practice and will get more opportunities.
So I thought about this thread today at a lousy Christmas party (yeah what kind of party starts at 1 pm on Thursday) and figured, hey, let's waste 15 more minutes of my already short life on Darko. Darko was overrated when drafted. Physical gifts and an immense upside notwithstanding, his lack of "game" developed on ANY level made this pick very risky. Factor in the language barrier, and immediately you have an enigma. A young, athletically exceptional, handsome enigma from a very strong ethnic community. Great for the marketing department. Potentially treacherous for the basketball side of the operation. In his first year, he was likely expected to learn, to grow and to adapt. His pre-NBA Summer League experience was missed due to contract buyout issues with his previous team, Hemofarm. In his second Piston summer, Darko was injured with a broken hand suffered in the 5th game of the NBA finals and again missed Summer League. The second year, Darko fell victim to the Pistons internal issues between the coach and front office. I truly believe that Larry Brown "bunkered down" from the pressure to defend a championship and whatever ill will had grown between himself and the front office to shorten the rotation to a playoff roster at mid-season. Being a young man at an age when many high schoolers are making the transition to college or moving out on their own, Darko was subject to intense scrutiny and criticism, from fans, the media and perhaps even his own organization. Then his attitude suffered. Not the cause, but definitely the effect, the remainder of his season was reduced to token (on behalf of the coach) and lackluster (on behalf of Darko) performances for the most part. Last summer, Darko was in my mind, very disappointing in Vegas. In a starting role, surrounded by lesser talents, this was an opportunity to shine. While Alex Acker and Jason Maxiell gained distinction for their play, Darko had on again, off again performances. Sometimes bringing an active game, and other times struggling to find his way. At Eurobasket 2005, Darko thrived in the role of contributing bench player. Perhaps a combination of the home crowd, national pride and a genuine opportunity to be the 3rd big man was the opportunity that Darko needed. The 05/05 NBA season looked like it could be his watershed year. Preseason showed a more active, more involved Darko. Defensively. Offensively, Darko did not seem to find his groove, occasionally showing flashes of his athleticism, and at others settling for the clanging long jumper which has become his trademark missed scoring opportunity. Now 23 games into the regular season, Darko has lost his spot minutes to the aged Dale Davis. Deserved or not, one has to consider that coaches as desperate and focused on winning now, as Flip Saunders appears to be, do not leave players on the bench that have the ability to make a difference. Darko, an enigma. Passive in the media, passive on the court, passive in interviews, showing infrequent glimpses of his remarkable attributes. Is he the next Dirk Nowitski? The tools are there. Or is he the next Nikoloz Tskitishvili? A player doomed to a trade during his rookie contract, only to find himself an almost permanently benched FA on a team desperate for help in the frontcourt. Darko. Darko, Darko, Darko. My take on the current state of the Serbian Gangster known as DMC is as follows. He was never put into a situation to succeed. Perhaps more moody and introverted than anyone suspected (easily masked by the language barrier), Darko appears to have lost any passion he had for the game. We often reminisce about those legendary players that carried a team from chumps to champs. The Ben Wallaces, the Isiah Thomases, this town has seen it's share. That special quality of dogged determination and relentless pursuit of perfection that makes a small man bigger than his listed height. Darko is a big man hiding in the NBA as a small man. Until he takes the next step, the personal challenge to be better than his self image, his future remains in doubt. I don't expect him to grab every rebound. I don't expect him to post up veteran bigs. I expect passion. Energy. Excitement. The only person holding back Darko TODAY is Darko. He has to make mistakes from effort and be willing to try again twice as hard. This is on him now, even if past events were not. At the age of 20, his playing career is still in front of him. Does he want it? The more we discuss Darko, the more enigmatic he becomes. Every enigma has more questions than answers.
hi Microwave, the problem is your mind. You got to admit you are not exactly a big Darko supporter. What you perceive on how Darko did in the summer league is influenced by your mind's predisposition to see bad things from Darko. Me, I may have bias when watching a game for the first time, but after watching that tape about 7 times, I get it pretty right. What I saw from Darko in the summer league was just fine. Delfino too. I won't bother commenting on the rest of your post, except to say I strongly disagree with most of it. Have a great day.
Lottery picks dont pay dues. I've never head of a lottery pick having to pay dues just to get on the court. I agree with most of what Wave just said, with a few differences: 1. Darko was FAD (blanked at Draft), any #2 pick would have been given minutes, even on a championship contending team, except for a team coached by LB. Riley found minutes for Walton his rookie year, if LB wanted, he could have found minutes for Darko 2. Darko was FA2 (blanked at season 2), breaks his hand, misses summer ball, LB in fight with management, and LB HATED Darko. I don't think there was anything Darko could have done that would have made LB play him. 3. Darko gives up. Tough summer league, better Euro league, and great exhibition. But come reg season, he's not getting the PT he expects, drops a bomb against the Knicks, and he's benched. He gives up. Considering what he's gone through, it's not suprising. Disappointing? Yep, but not suprising. The kid has talent. The Pistons drafted him, and they have some responsibility in trying to help this kid succeed. Because if they don't, someone else will, and on Joe's dime.
I know. Have you seen the signature I have been sporting today on my posts? Bullcrap. I busted my butt to cover his Eurobasket experience here this summer. I support players that give their all. I thought he gave his all in Europe. I do not think he has been giving his all this season. I also outlined reasons why the difference in approach may be occuring. I guess you can accuse the DetNews and DraftExpress.com of the same. Your standards are lower than mine for players with "pedigree". It's easy to rag on a Mo Evans who was a Ben Wallace type "fight your way into the league" player when bonafide NBA 1st round picks get far less scrutiny. Thanks. It's validation for me if you disagree. I'm probably on the right track then. You too. I hope you have a Merry Xmas. :D
