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Is Darko Milicic a bust?
(Originally posted by Saskibaloia, 05-02-2005, 04:42 PM)
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Saskibaloia
05-02-2005, 04:42 PM
G'day there,
Is Darko Milicic a bust?
Would he be better off in another team rather than sitting on the bench and then in 5 years finally show his true worth?
What stats would you predict him to produce if he was the starting Power Forward for another team let say the Atlanta Hawks? Would you say a 20ppg 8rpg 2bpg 51% fg etc?
is his style of play a Nowitzki or a Divac?
Will he be playing for your NT in Eurobasket?
Would you say that he should be in the starting 4 spot?
When he was playing for Hemofarm was he playing Centre?
Cheers.
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Matiz
05-05-2005, 12:02 AM
Milicic just screwed up going in NBA too fast... as NBA is much more ittolerant to foreigners, Darko has some troubles getting PT, but I think he will work through it, just as Skita will- hopefully both in some other clubs- that has to happen to show Detroit, Denver and too ambitious managers( that mix up player's heads) that drafting an 18y.o. 7feet tall prospect doesn't pay off... so they'll leave those kids in europe...
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stuart
05-27-2005, 08:48 AM
I would never call a player a bust before his 20th birthday, plays behind a world-class frontline, is inexperienced, and has barely received any minutes ever. But that's just me, there are others more than willing to do so then. They are a dime a dozen and chock-full of mob-mentality.
Is the potential there for Darko to be an eventual bust? Yep. There sure is. Is there the potential for him to be a perennial all-star? Yep. There sure is. Unless you're someone with the access to the Piston's practice or are akin to something everyone else is not (which is doubtful) one has any idea (based on anything solid) whether Darko is a bust or not.
Only time will tell, and time meaning minutes. From the reports, he'll probably get more minutes next year since Larry Brown's health seems to be deteriorating.
Stuart
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mvblair
06-27-2005, 12:38 PM
I agree with Stuart on this one. While Matiz is right, GMs should not be quick to take an 18-year-old kid, Darko still has so much potential.
Case in point: April 19, Detroit versus Atlanta (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore?gid=2005041901). This was Darko's first and only start. He scored 16 points (7-11 FGs), grabbed 5 rebounds, and blocked 3 shots in just 30 minutes.
When he was given the opportunity, his first and only opportunity, he shined. I remember reading about how thrilled Joe Dumars was. Dumars, one of the games best GMs (along with West and Popovich), was not wrong to pick Milicic. At the time of the pick, Dumars even said that he wanted 3 or 4 years to develop the kid.
OK, when Larry Brown doesn't like a player, he won't play him. We know that. That's the case with Milicic. If Brown leaves, I think that Milicic will impress us.
Matt
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Sigma
09-05-2005, 04:50 AM
Now that Larry Brown's out of town, the Pistons must be feeling free to speak their minds. First up, Chauncey Billups, who had this to say about Larry's treatment of Darko Milicic to Detroit radio station WXYTAM 1270:
"Larry beat him up too much. He tore the kid's confidence apart too much, and it was tough for him to recover," Billups said. "The kid has unbelievable talent. There's nothing he can't do out there on the court. In the playoffs, we're smiling and laughing and having fun out there. I've never seen Darko smile one day ever in practice or playing, and that's a problem."
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/4835618
Still hope for him. 
I have only seen him play once (last year) and its unreal what physical abilities he has. 215cm player with long hands (in predraft camp wingspan was measured 7'5, but i belive he grew ince or two since) shouldn't be able to do things he does. I think he is not C, he should play PF. And he is still, what, 20? I hope Flip handles him better and gives him some playtime. Brown said Darko doesn't want to be like Russell, he wants to play like Kukoc. What the hell is bad wanting to play like Kukoc?
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mfmilan
09-05-2005, 08:05 AM
i watched darko against italy, and he looked very good. it seems that 'enemy' players are starting to be afraid of him. i mean, when you see all those blocks he 'gives', who wouldn't be afraid? but, that could be bad - if he gets carried away.. but i think that obradovic will control him. he has to, because otherwise, darko would be home by now. obradovic wants discipline, just remember that he gave up stojakovic because of the 'i am the chief' stuff.
and one more thing - against france, you could see what experience is all about - rebraca was resting, tomasevic injured, and krstic, milojevic and milicic was the only Cs available. but milicic quickly made 4 foules, and he spent more time on the bench then on the field. in the last quarter, he went in again, made stupid foul, and finished game. in detroit, he playes few minutes per game(if he is given a chance), and for that time he can't commit so many fouls. he doesn't have the feeling for that part of the game.
i would never say that he is bust, especially not after this few games in NT.
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sasha
09-06-2005, 02:58 AM
Maybe he is a bust...for their logic.
They are using our players the way it suits them...not player.
Radmanovic is maybe good example. Seattle used him quite often as a PF, and he, right now looks completely lost, at least on these few friendly games.
I think that Detroit have very good chance to ruin him....if they persist on making him a center.
Thing that scares me the most about this kid is (if it's true) that he NEVER smiled (?), as Chancey said in that interview....I was just checking that observation...and noticed that is really true...
Heavy burden on his shoulders...
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Saskibaloia
10-12-2005, 06:57 PM
Check it out.
Finally someone who knows how to use this kid and prove the media that he ain't a bust.
http://www.detnews.com/2005/pistons/...D01-346297.htm
I could imagine him as a second team all defensive if he continues this way.
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stuart
10-17-2005, 08:38 AM
Against Minnesota yesterday, Milicic went 0-5 from the field, however he went 10-12 from the free throw line, grabbed 5 rebounds and blocked 6 shots in 21 minutes. If he can keep up the shot-blocking, then I think Darko's found a niche that can get him into the lineup/more minutes.
In three games, Darko has put 9pts, 6rebs, 4blks and 1 ast in 21 minutes per game. His FG% is horrible though as it's floating around 41%... however Darko is being really productive with the time he is playing.
Stuart
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BallStorm
10-17-2005, 10:48 AM
He played pretty well with the serbian national team this summer so I think he will give the pistons 10-15 mn of good rebounding/shotbloking this season .Not only is he better than he was the past seasons , but Brown is gone , and it is certainly a big relief for milicic , who won't have to abide anymore his harsh words .
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sasha
10-24-2005, 02:26 PM
Monster is awake
Good that he is showing some attitude...At least someone utilize that hard preparations for EC, and Obradovic did something good. He is improving. I was afraid of his "mental" blocks, but so far so good. Detroit and Portalnd are special surroundings for a white European kid...If u make it there, u will make it anywhere...so said Frank Sinatra. He is special freak...freak of nature.
I was hoping for Radmanovic to be something similar, but God gave him everything, and took most important thing...brain.
Go Darko!!!
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stuart
10-25-2005, 01:11 PM
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baske...ns-darko_x.htm
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Pistons say Milicic's time is coming By David DuPree, USA TODAY
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Darko Milicic hasn't gotten enough playing time during the last two seasons to even earn a varsity letter. But each year, when the NBA trading deadline approaches, Detroit Pistons players parade to Joe Dumars to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid — such as trade the multitalented 7-0 center, who rarely got on court under former coach Larry Brown.
"They keep telling me not to give up on him and that he can really play," says Dumars, president of basketball operations for the Pistons. "I just smile because they're preaching to the choir."
The rest of the league could be about to see what Detroit sees as Milicic enters his third season — his first away from the hard-to-please Brown, his first under the more favorable eye of new coach Flip Saunders.
Milicic gained confidence from playing for Serbia & Montenegro in the European Championships during the summer and has shown he is ready to be a factor this season.
"It bothered me a lot that I never got a chance to play," Milicic says. "I was expecting just a chance to show Coach what I could do but I never got a chance to do that.
"If I had a chance to play and couldn't play, I could accept that, but I never got a chance."
Milicic — taken in the 2003 draft behind No. 1 pick LeBron James and before Carmelo Anthony— has averaged only 5.8 minutes a game in two seasons. He entered 71 of a possible 164 regular-season contests and averaged 1.6 points.
James has played 40.9 minutes a game and averaged 24.1 points with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Anthony 35.7 minutes and 20.9 points with the Denver Nuggets.
Milicic also has two appearances in the NBA Finals, however, and a championship ring. James hasn't been to the playoffs with the Cavs, and Anthony's Nuggets were bounced in the first round twice.
Becoming ready for his time
A new Milicic has been showing himself this preseason. In six exhibition games, Milicic is averaging 7.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in 21.0 minutes.
"I'm not comparing him to Kevin (Garnett), but he is a lot like Kevin when we had him when he was younger," says Saunders, who coached Garnett for 10 seasons in Minnesota before being fired last season. "If you sat up in the stands and watched Kevin run, you thought he was 6-5 or 6-6. Darko is like that."
Milicic, who is left-handed, also has a nice shooting touch and an assortment of inside moves. He prefers to play facing the basket but also is effective with his back to it.
"I'm both excited and surprised," Saunders says. "It's going to be a long process for Darko because he is still only 20 years old and there are a lot of things he still has to go through to get where he wants to be. But you can see why he was drafted where he was drafted.
"We're going to use him because I think he can help us win."
Although he does play a finesse game, toughness has never been an issue with Milicic.
"He had to be tough at a very young age," Dumars says. "He grew up in war-torn Belgrade, and his father was on the front lines in Kosovo. His teammates are always speaking up for this kid. Guys just don't do that in this league unless you are for real and they believe in you."
Point guard Chauncey Billups, for example, is high on Milicic.
"I love what Darko has been doing," he says. "He's really been focused and been very good. He will definitely help us this year."
Adds Rasheed Wallace: "I always knew he could play. He just needed the time to get ready. Now he is."
Luck of the lottery
That Milicic is a Piston at all is a stroke of luck. The Pistons were only in the lottery in 2003 because they had obtained the pick from the Memphis Grizzlies when they were in Vancouver in 1997 as part of a deal involving Otis Thorpe.
Dumars could have taken Milicic or Anthony, who would have contributed sooner. But with Tayshaun Prince playing the same position and with a championship-caliber team in place, Dumars could afford to look well into the future. A 7-footer with Milicic's skills was just too enticing to pass up.
"If we were a different type of team or at a different stage, we might have looked elsewhere," Dumars says. "But looking at Darko and projecting, I knew that the first three or four years of his career we were going to be good no matter what, and he'd be ready when it was time for some fresh young blood in the mix. He's progressing like we thought he would."
The other Pistons have helped see to that. They tease him, as when he got arrested last week for driving with a suspended license. He was stopped because the tinted windows on his car were too dark; during the routine check, the police learned his license had been suspended because he hadn't paid a couple of outstanding tickets.
His teammates also support and push Milicic in practice.
"His teammates want him to be good, and so they work with him and pull for him," Saunders says.
What irks Dumars is critics ranting Milicic was a wasted draft pick.
"It amazes me how many people have an opinion of what he can and can't do, and they have never really seen him play," he says. "I have the patience of a parent. You have to see more than the young person himself, sometimes. ... Trust me, Darko is doing just fine."
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