...no time I'd give him half a season. If he's still tossin up 20 footers and ducking with people dunk. I bounce him out of here for a serviceable big man and a 1st round pick.
my OP I disagree with those who say we should let him play like Dirk and just fire away from the perimeter. For one Darko hasn't shown me that he is that good of a shooter. If he is open let him shoot, but I really want to see him attack and DRAW FOULS. He can make FT's and he can draw fouls- it seems like an easy way to score points, doesn't it? I would say allow Darko to face the basket and either shoot or drive. But I would also like to see him in the post so he can utilize that passing ability.
Of course we would like to see this man bloosom. Only those who coe against us hopes he is a bust. Some teams are hoping the Pistons think Darko is a bust so they can pick him up. I am behind him all the way.
I'd do what Flip says he's going to do. "We've got to work on keeping him where he plays at a high level, and give him resonsibility. That's why this summer is important, preseason is important. But ... He'll earn time. We're going to give him every opportunity." Give him some set PT, 8-10 minutes a game. Allow him to make mistakes, to learn, to improve, and get his confidence. Reward him with more PT, punish him with good old fashion tough love. Most importantly, let his ability and play dictate his game, not some predetermined notion of how he should play. Coaches need to find his strengths and weaknesses, and play his strengths while protecting his weaknesses. The kid is only 20, based on his steady improvement in the Euro League, the sky's the limit.
here's my starting lineup....... even tho yall frowned at me about this last year......... F- Prince F- Milicic C- Ben G- Billups G-Hamilton Bench...Sheed-McDyess-Davis-Arroyo-Evans i still believe Delfino is history as we develop three excellent rookies...Now why start Milicic? i dont knoooooo! bUT i remember Jack Sikma getting this treatment and he turned out pretty good...plus.. our bench would be impreganable..(Tysonspeak)..my brudddas hq
Trade Darko now while we can still get something for him. He will likely never play like a true Center. He doesn't want to post up either and would rather face up guys than anything else. The Pistons are built on defense and sharing the ball. Their big men play inside. I doubt Flip will make much of a difference with him. He probably needed to be drafted by a lame team so he could do whatever he wanted on offense and find his way. At this point I would trade him for a first rounder or a good young 3.
I have seen Darko stripped repeatedly by quick guards. Protecting the ball seems like a big "if" right now.
My First Darko Post! (On PF.com, anyway) Everyone seems to have a pretty good grasp on what's in store for Darko this season. I don't think we will need to play small ball like we did in the finals against SA. That's fer sure! I seem him as the first 5 off the bench. Double D will get more minutes than EC got last year. This is because Flip likes to use a full roster. DMC's confidence will grow rapidly upon increased playing time. He's definately in the rotation. He will start late next season, perhaps. All of the doubters are going to be eating crow by the All-Star Break. BTW, OVEE99 is a disguise, my real name is "DPFANsince78"
Will Darko get a start in '05? What game or game situation will Darko get his first start of the upcoming season? Will he get it at all? Will it stem from an injury (hope not)? or from Wallace X 2 needing a break? Or maybe cuz the Hawks are in town? haha ....
What to Do, What to Do? There is little left to do but give the kid some playing time. Sink or swim, put the decision in his hands. See if he has learned anything at all by sitting on the bench. Of course, you could argue, that heart is not something that can be learned - and so far the kid has not shown any heart! Play hard, Play determined, Play mean!
I think putting Alex Acker on the team was a good move on their part (thats if he makes it). Now Darko has someone around his age to mingle with and maybe he'll no longer hang out with Carlos Delfino and hear all the wrong things. That was probably another problem...he was the youngest on the team and everyone was babying him. Basketball is his job and hopefully now he'll get that killer instinct that if he's not getting playing time, he'll work harder for it (maybe he's got it now, but Larry wasn't giving him a chance). I'm gonna hope I don't see him sulking this season if he gets benched for doing something wrong. Its part of the learning process.
With Darko speaking DarKonian and Delfino speaking Delfinian, I would imagine Darko didn't learn to much besides some facial gestures like sticking out your tongue behind the coaches back and giving him the raspberry. Well, maybe a hand gesture involving the middle finger too. :ballchain
at what point was did darko have oppurtunity to show heart?? he played well in meaningful minutes and didn't back down to anybody during those times. if you are referring to garbage time then you don't understand what garbage time is. in garbage time he just goes through the motions to get the game over. no he's not going to be trying to block everything or score every point. judge darko by meaningful minutes not by garbage time and that is the most accurate judge of a player.
