[rtbtParticipant]

For those of you who followed my comments on certain NBA players who ride the bench, all I wanted to see was a guy like Darko Milicic, going to a team that will finally give him a chance to play every night. I was really disgusted by the fact that D’Antoni, who has a team that needs rebounding and shot blocking, never gave the guy an opportunity to prove himself one way or the other. If you’re not in D’Antoni’s 8 man rotation, it’s very simple, you don’t play.

I guess you could say the same was true for Toney Douglas who sat on the bench all season. D’Antoni suddenly decided to put him in the lineup and the guy’s proving he can play in this league. What does that tell you about D’Antoni’s judgment?

Anyway, it looks as if Milicic’s finally getting a serious opportunity in Minnesota so we’re learning a little more about him. He hasn’t yet shown flashes of being a star, but he’s definitely proving he belongs in the NBA. I haven’t followed him too closely, but here are his stats for his last two games. Judge for yourself.

vs. Toronto
—————-
27 minutes played
4 for 7 from the field
6 rebounds
2 blocked shots

vs Lakers
————–
29 minutes played
8 for 12 from the field
12 rebounds
1 blocked shot
3 assists

[JoeWolf1]

He is playing like he was in Orlando there for a while. He still shows promise, 6.3 ppg 5.8 rpg and 1.1 blocks in about 23 minutes. You are right, since he hadn’t got a lot of minutes so we really don’t know a whole lot about his game, but his time in Minnesota is leading me to believe he is in the mold of Sagana Diop when he was playing well for Dallas a few years ago, providing a big body in the middle to alter and block shots and rebound. Not really a stat stuffer type of player, but one who can benefit your team while out on the court. I don’t think he’ll live up to his #2 pick status, but im glad to see him at least playing at the level he was in Orlando a few years ago.

[SlimParticipant]

he had back spasms the other day from being out of shape

[JoeWolf1]

Yeah, I think Darko can be more productive than Diop, but play a similar role that he did when he was in Dallas. Darko already has more offensive game, but as far as most of their points coming off of offensive rebounds and a couple looks throughout a game. I could see Darko putting up 8 pts 8rbs 2 blocks per game if he gets more playing time to develop his game and gain confidence, maybe like a buff Tyson Chandler would be a better comparison on who I think he could play like.

[LeroyJenkinsParticipant]

You also gotta wonder if he is giving it his all out there. we never get any timberwolves games in the south so i cant really say if he is or not but he sounded pretty much ready to be in europe instead of the nba earlier on in the year

[rtbtParticipant]

Let me put it this way. I think Darko Milicic is one of probably 12 to 15 physically talented NBA players who are or were glued to the bench for whatever reason. I’ve always believed that Milicic, and those other guys mentioned above, would become very productive players if given a full blown opportunity on the right team. Based upon his physical talent and what I’ve seen of Milicic so far, I will repeat my assessment of him. I think Milicic, who’s still only 25 years old, will become an above average center. I think his numbers will be a little higher than the ones Joe posted above, but I don’t expect him to be an All Star. But then again I wouldn’t exactly be shocked if it did happen.

I say this all the time, most teams need rebounding and shot blocking, and he could give do that for the right team. But who knows, maybe the Timberwolves will evolve into the right place for him? Since Minnesota has 3 number one draft choices, maybe they’ll select someone other than a point guard this June and significantly improve next year.

[QUINCEY]

you do realize who hes playing for right?..you give any nba player minutes on a bad team and they can do a lil something. the thing is when he’s on a average to good team he’s not good enough to earn minutes

[JNixonParticipant]

Yea, you guys have to realize that this is the end of the season and all kinds of guys are getting time. D-League callups, rookies etc. Darko is a very below average player in the NBA. I can’t see him getting 8 points and 8 rebs with 2 blocks if he’s playing for a team that even mediocre. He’s not good. Plain and simple.

[rtbtParticipant]

JNixon-Iggy9, just like everyone else, is entitled to his opinion. However, my point is very simple, how can you judge a guy who never plays? I don’t care if it’s Milicic or some other talented guy buried on someone’s bench. For example, everyone was saying how bad Milicic was in NY. Well, we really don’t know if that was was true because he never played.

And let’s look at Toney Douglas, who was also buried on D’Antoni’s bench all year. Many people on this website proclaimed him a bad draft choice for NY and a bust. But hold on, for whatever reason, D’Antoni finally decided to give Toney Douglas a full opportunity to play and he’s looked great the past few games.

All of us have seen guys who never played on Team A or B get traded to Team C where they thrived. After we see them on a new team where they’re doing well, we wonder why they didn’t play for their previous coach. So much of being successful in the league is based upon opportunity, how you fit in with your teammates, and your relationship with the head coach.

There are many examples but 4 recent ones come to mind. They may not be the best examples, but that’s all I can think of at this moment.

Channing Frye and Jared Dudley with Phoenix
John Salmons with Milwaukee
Beno Udrih with Sacramento

[QUINCEY]

you cant judge a guy who never plays but you can judge one who has been given time and didnt produce which is what darko has done. its not like hes never gotten time to show what he can do. he gets the time and doesnt do alot and when the time is given to someone else who does more then who you think should get the time?…some of ya’ll dont take into account that he doesnt get time because the guys ahead of him are better and have proven it with more time or limited time. ya’ll expect him to get time over someone he isnt better then. even when he puts up ok numbers there is a guy on his team who , when given those same minutes, play better. so who you think should get the time? the nba is full of guys who have some skill but dont get minutes because every team has a player who plays there position who is more skilled. thats life

[Im Your FatherParticipant]

Has been in the league this long and gotten no playing time, because he simply isn’t good enough to play consistent minutes on a winning team. Now of course he can produce when given minutes, most NBA players can. They wouldn’t be in the NBA if they completely sucked. But Darko has proven, in my eyes, that he will never be more than mediocre.

[JNixonParticipant]

He’s played in enough games for me to see him play multiple times, and he’s never been anything more than average. I have a hard time believing that a top 10-15 physical talent would not get aalot of PT for like 5 different teams if he was actually good.

And as I said; rookies, D-Leaguers etc are getting a bunch of time for teams. Don’t take the stats too seriously. Most of these guys are just being given free will, because their teams sucks and they use these last few games to develop guys without worrying about wins and losses. These stats mean next to nothing at this time of the year. I remember Shelden Williams was like the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for the last month of the season because the Hawks were playing a bunch of scrubs who could do whatever they wanted without worrying about team results.

[QUINCEY]

thats one thing ive tried to tell people iggy. they get so excited at the end of the year when some players get more minutes on teams that arent going anywhere so they are putting up numbers and people think the guy should have played all along. those same guys get there minutes because a better player is hurt or the team is just giving everyone minutes

[rtbtParticipant]

JoeWolf1, I think Milicic might turn out to be a little better player than you projected above. When he scored 16 points and had 12 rebounds in 29 minutes versus the Lakers, I believe that’s the Darko Milicic who can make a serious contribution with the right team.

In sum, I think Milicic can become an above average NBA center because of his height, jumping ability, timing on defense, and his strength. I never really saw much of Sagana Diop so I can’t give an opinion on that comparison. But if I were an NBA playoff team and needed rebounding and shot blocking, I would be very happy to have someone like Darko on my team.

I also believe that if you scan the rosters of the majority of NBA teams, you will find guys who are glued to the bench that would be very productive players if given an opportunity to play every night.

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