<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The question, as he begins his first full campaign with the Magic, is no longer whether he can earn the elite status held by James, Anthony, Wade and Bosh. At this point that's a fairy tale; Milicic is not even in the company of Hinrich. The question is whether Darko can play at all. He showed signs of life at the end of last season. Buoyed by increased minutes, Milicic posted double-figure scoring nights in five of his last six games in the regular season and morphed into a powerful shot-blocker. As he developed a comfort level with Dwight Howard (who has begrudgingly accepted the move to center), Darko helped to transform the Magic from floundering lottery team to borderline playoff contender, winning nine of their last 13. Additionally, Milicic now has a coach, Brian Hill, who developed Shaquille O'Neal in Orlando, and a new assistant in John Kuester who coached Darko in Detroit for two seasons and knows what the 21-year-old went through. The Magic should boast a lineup talented enough to do the heavy lifting while still affording Milicic minutes and shots. And on top of all else, Darko will be playing for a new contract, the ultimate motivator for NBA players. With the support system in place, is Milicic willing to work hard enough to make last season's late blossoming a starting point for better days ahead? If the world championships are any indicator, there might be hope in the Magic Kingdom. In a statement game against Argentina last week, Darko poured in 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds in Serbia and Montenegro's 83-64 exhibition pasting of the Olympic gold medalists. One game doesn't tell a story, but it's certainly a good start. So embrace the class of '03, the group that has already taken the torch from the tattooed but never toned down ensemble led by Allen Iverson. Just don't forget about Milicic. In the coming years, he could move to the forefront.</div> Source He's a major factor in determining Orlando's success next season. This will be his first season as the every day starter and I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do this upcoming season. I'm not sure if Darko matched up against Luis Scola or Oberto in the game against Argentinia, but putting up 17/9 is a great confidence boost for him.
I never really believe he was a bust, and I'm happy to see him doing well. Now he can still be considered a bust in comparison to his draft class if he doesn't become an All-Star, but I see him as being a good player, especially defensively. I remember the Magic people were saying he was a better back to the basket guy than Howard in terms of his moves. For next season I can see him averaging 10-12 PPG, 6 RPG, and 2+ BPG if he starts at C, and get's good minutes.
He did so good in his first World Championship game...and they lost to nigeria (wtf, how can you lose a game against nigeria??) His stats are: 31minutes 2/11 FG (18.2%) 1/7 for 2pts (14.3%) 1/4 for 3pts (25%) 5 rebounds 3 asists 2 TO 1 steal 2 blocks and 5 points Damn, he sure does suck. I'll wait to see how he plays in the next couple of games, but so far, he sucks.
He never really was a bust. You can't expect LeBron to average what he's averaging if you give him 5 minutes a game. Like og15 said, he's obviously not going to be a LeBron James or Dwyane Wade calibre player, but he's not an utter trash player either. He's got amazing shotblocking instincts and I can really see him becoming one of the top shotblockers in the league. Sergio, how can you judge Darko on one game that isn't even in the NBA? He sucked for one game, but so what? Not everyone is going to play well all the time. Besides, with your logic we can judge him from one game and can say that Darko is amazing because he played so well in his first game.
like i said, i'll wait to see how he plays in the next games. he did good in practice games for his country, but that doesn't really count because they aren't worth 2 cents.. the point is he sucked against nigeria... nigeria only has 3 "tall" players (one 6'10" and two 6'9") the three "tall" dudes from nigeria only played 47 minutes combined i can't really remember any good nigerian players, so that tells you how strong team nigeria is. Serbia used to be the top country in european basketball, but the key word here is "used to be".... that tells me he really did suck that game if he couldn use his height against them, while playing more than 30minutes. Don't get me wrong, i would really like to see him play superb for the magic as I'm a magic fun, but so far he just isn't showing anything on the floor.... very dissapointing..
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Sergio:</div><div class="quote_post">Don't get me wrong, i would really like to see him play superb for the magic as I'm a magic fun, but so far he just isn't showing anything on the floor.... very dissapointing..</div> Are you kidding me man? When he was with the pistons he averaged liek less then 5 minutes a game IF THAT! If your a magic fan did you even watch him play for us?? In his first 30 games learning a NEW system at that. He came in and averaged 7.6 ppg. 4.1 rpg. and 2.07 blocks per game! So can anyne here besides Sergio explain to me how Darko is dissapointing and sucks?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Sergio:</div><div class="quote_post">like i said, i'll wait to see how he plays in the next games. he did good in practice games for his country, but that doesn't really count because they aren't worth 2 cents.. the point is he sucked against nigeria... nigeria only has 3 "tall" players (one 6'10" and two 6'9") the three "tall" dudes from nigeria only played 47 minutes combined i can't really remember any good nigerian players, so that tells you how strong team nigeria is. Serbia used to be the top country in european basketball, but the key word here is "used to be".... that tells me he really did suck that game if he couldn use his height against them, while playing more than 30minutes. Don't get me wrong, i would really like to see him play superb for the magic as I'm a magic fun, but so far he just isn't showing anything on the floor.... very dissapointing..</div>Ever hear of a bad game? Players have them all the time, and Darko won't be an exception to that. Just because he has one bad game, doesn't mean he's going to suck for the rest of his career.
With Dwight Howard in Orlando, I don't think that Darko will be the team's first or second option. He would do much better for a team with a bad frontline like the Nets. I think Darko would fit well with the Celtics, because most of the others forwards/centers on that team is young.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting vcwannabe15:</div><div class="quote_post">With Dwight Howard in Orlando, I don't think that Darko will be the team's first or second option. He would do much better for a team with a bad frontline like the Nets. I think Darko would fit well with the Celtics, because most of the others forwards/centers on that team is young.</div> We don't want him as the first or 2nd option. His offensive game right now is still a little shaky, while his defensive game is really good. He is playing the best players in the world right now and playing pretty good. He is the perfect complement to Dwight. Dwight is all back to the basket and dunks, while Darko spreads the floor and can hit a 15-18 footer. Also Darko is a much better defender, so he will guard the better big man, while Dwight will guard the lesser of the 2 big man and stay out of foul trouble. Darko should start for us this year and get at least 30 minutes a game. Also playing alongside Dwight will benefit them both. Them going back and forth during practice can only help them become better players. Darko is a perfect fit for this Orlando team and Dwight/Darko will be a fearsome frontline in a couple of years while we contend for a title(assuming we sign them both).
I couldnt have said it better gators... Dwight and Darko are going to be the new twin towers... I see them beign together for a while. Dwight will be more offensive minded where as Darko will be defensive minded.
Delusional? Have you seen Darko play? Better yet, can you justify you're reasons for calling Magic fans that? If you can give me one good reason why you would say that, I would be a very happy man. Well not really. But I would have the satisfaction of proving you completely wrong. I don't even know why I bother. If you just randomly jump into a thread and attempt to say something with no merit or justification whatsoever I don't think it even deserves to acknowledged as an actual post.
Don't worry about him adsf, he is a Pistons fan who jumped all over us for thinking Darko could be halfway decent for the Magic. He laughed in our faces that we got Darko and how Darko completely sucks and there's no way he turns into a decent player. I guess he's coming back in here. He just doesn't want to admit that the Magic ripped his Pistons. That move was supposed to 1) Win them a championship last year and 2) Give them enough cap room to resign Ben Wallace and they didn't do either. None of us think Darko will be at the level of the other Top 5 picks in his draft, but he will be a quality player right next to Dwight.
I'm a Magic fan but I'm still not that impressed. He still has a lot to prove so before I get excited, therefore I won't set out high expetations. His game is actually more of a PF, but because of his size he's playing center. He needs to improve his upper body strength still, and protect the basketball to reduce turnovers. On the positive side, hes a decent finisher with a soft touch.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Ice:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm a Magic fan but I'm still not that impressed. He still has a lot to prove so before I get excited, therefore I won't set out high expetations. His game is actually more of a PF, but because of his size he's playing center. He needs to improve his upper body strength still, and protect the basketball to reduce turnovers. On the positive side, hes a decent finisher with a soft touch.</div> I was impressed with what he did for the Magic in around 20 mins a game, while trying to learn a new system, playing with all new people, getting in game shape(he definetely wasn't), and shaking all the rust off. I don't think anyone really has unreasonable expectations for him this year. I'm expecting something close to 11-12 ppg 5-7 rpg and around 2 bpg. That's solid center numbers while he gains experience, but I think him and Dwight could form the best big man duo in the game in 2-3 years. (that might be the expectations you are talking about)
I am a Magic fan and I LOVE the Magic, more so because of their talent and EVEN more so because I live in Florida. I however have to sigh and shake my head when I hear Dark/Dwight = New Twin Towers or Darko will get 18/10/3 (another board). Its so unrealistic and frustrating to hear this. Not only is it a spit in history to say "New Twin Towers" its just plain like the Pistons fan said delusional. I like Darko and wish him the best but you guys are sure you aint selling him "too short"? Ice said it best. He needs strength, among other things. On the positive side he has a jumper he can fall back on, a soft touch, and a hookshot(though they are all really amateur and rushed looking) which can improve over time. Also even saying 2 bpg is a bit much guys. I would say 1.8 at the most next season unless he gets like 4 blocks one game and gets injured.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Franchise4Ever:</div><div class="quote_post">I am a Magic fan and I LOVE the Magic, more so because of their talent and EVEN more so because I live in Florida. I however have to sigh and shake my head when I hear Dark/Dwight = New Twin Towers or Darko will get 18/10/3 (another board). Its so unrealistic and frustrating to hear this. Not only is it a spit in history to say "New Twin Towers" its just plain like the Pistons fan said delusional. I like Darko and wish him the best but you guys are sure you aint selling him "too short"? Ice said it best. He needs strength, among other things. On the positive side he has a jumper he can fall back on, a soft touch, and a hookshot(though they are all really amateur and rushed looking) which can improve over time. Also even saying 2 bpg is a bit much guys. I would say 1.8 at the most next season unless he gets like 4 blocks one game and gets injured. </div> The way that I look at it is Dwight will probably be one of the best bigs in the league and Darko will be a solid player(I'm not expecting him to be an all-star anytime in his career). So that's why I said the best big duo in the league, mainly because of Dwight. He will also open up the game for Darko and make it much easier on himm. 2 bpg isn't too much, he avg over that in 20 mins last year, he should get 30 minutes this year, plus he's stepped up his defense even more in the World Championships.
I for one don't believe Darko will be close to matching the '03 draft class, but he'll certainly be a very good compliment to Dwight. What I expect Darko to bring is shotblocking and like 8 points, I'm not really asking for much and I think those are pretty realistic expectations. I agree that Magic fans tend to overhype him, and the Twin Towers thing is probably more of a joke than an actual prediction. edit: Hey, all three lines of my post start with "I". I'm sorry, I just had to point that out.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting asdf:</div><div class="quote_post">edit: Hey, all three lines of my post start with "I". I'm sorry, I just had to point that out.</div> Lol. Don't get me wrong in any way asdf and Gators, I think all of what you guys said its just like I've said from th beginning, Magic fans overrate him. The only thing I'm iffy on is the 2bpg.
He managed to average 2.1 blocks in 21 minutes a game when he was playing in Orlando. I'm pretty sure that two blocks won't be too hard for a guy like Darko. He's got long arms, quick off his feet and has athleticism that would probably give Carmelo Anthony a run for his money. He's not a great defensive player just yet, but I was reallly impressed with the amount of blocks he could get in a short period of time.
