Quote:
Originally posted by JazzMan!
I'm not high on Darko. He is going to take a LONG time to be a useful player. He will stay in Detroit until his rookie contract is up, but they may have lost patience by then. he really doesn't look natural on the court. His awareness is pretty poor.
I know he's only 18/19, but I am concerned about his lack of instinct. I really can't see (yet) the potential he his supposed to have.
Mind you, I'm rooting for him to be great. Detroit could be awesome in 2-3 years, and swing the balance of power back east. But, I'm not yet convinced that their future includes Darko.
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Just a question, but are you basing any of this on the game yesterday?
He has shown continous improvement throughout the season. He has a lot of really good post moves, but has trouble executing them because for some reason teams double team him every time he touches the ball anywhere near the block. He is a very good shotblocker and has the quickness and length to disrupt passing lanes, but his defensive rotations are a bit shaky at times. He is also a very good passer, but because he only gets garbage minutes, the fans are always screaming at him to score which I think has made it tough for him to just come out and play.
When Darko has a good game, people always point to the fact that it was in garbage minutes. But I think he would actually do a lot better in first half minutes, when the pressure is on him to play good basketball and not just score points.
Two times this season he has gotten into the game in the first half- both against Sacramento. The first time he got 4 second quarter minutes do to a Ben Wallace injury. He blocked Brad Miller twice, stripped the ball from him once, grabbed a rebound, and didn't take a shot from the field. The second time he got 6 first half minutes because of a Mehmet Okur injury, Detroit was down around 15 when he came in the game and everyone looked dead. He gave the team a spark, starting a fast break with a steal and scoring 2 points and by the time he left the game they lead was cut to 5.
Darko wasn't going to be a dominant scorer this year no matter what, but when he gets his garbage minutes that's what the fans are screaming for him to be.
I think if he had more time in situations where the outcome of the game was in doubt, people would have gotten a clearer view of what his game was like.
If you're going to take anything from his first season, it's that he is a very good shot blocker and a very good passer, has a soft touch and a lot of moves, but his game needs refining to bring all of his talents together.