As Milicic enters his 10th NBA season with his sixth team, though, he brings with him to Boston two incontrovertible truths.
Fact No. 1: Based on his track record, Milicic was a terrible choice for the No. 2 pick in 2003.
Fact No. 2: Independent of his draft position, Milicic is not altogether terrible as an NBA player.
Milicic's per-minute statistics suggest a top-of-the-rotation big man -- 11.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per 36 minutes for his career is more than serviceable compared to a lot of backup centers -- but the fact that he has never averaged more than 24.4 minutes per game implies that those solid per-minute numbers are largely a product of shrewd substitution patterns by his coaches.
LINK
We're getting closer to cracking this nut, gang.
As Florida Celts Fan has astutely pointed out on more than on occasion, we wouldn't be having this conversation if Darko were drafted #29 instead of #2. But because he was drafted so high, and he's not performing at an elite level, well, ipso facto, Darko sucks.
Not so fast.
We've got proof that he actually performs well against some of the leagues best Bigs. But he must only do this in spurts. If this is the case, then to echo FCF for the 99th time, Darko's problem must be a combination of conditioning, motivation, and dedication. In other words, he's got problems with his head and his heart. This doesn't make him unsalvageable (he might still be a head case or very peculiar though). It will be up to Doc Rivers to channel his inner Bob Boone (forthcoming post) to make Darko look like and feel like an impactful player.
In a division with more than a few legitimate bigs, both Doc and Darko will have their moments to shine in a relationship I will be keeping a close eye on.
Tomorrow we'll crack the nut open a little further, when we see that most of those videos came from two years ago, leaving us to ask what happened last year?
Milicic's per-minute
statistics suggest a top-of-the-rotation big man -- 11.7 points and 8.2
rebounds per 36 minutes for his career is more than serviceable compared
to a lot of backup centers -- but the fact that he has never averaged
more than 24.4 minutes per game implies that those solid per-minute
numbers are largely a product of shrewd substitution patterns by his
coaches.
Read more at: http://www.nesn.com/2012/09/darko-milicic-can-serve-purpose-for-celtics-even-if-he-never-fulfills-past-expectations.html
Read more at: http://www.nesn.com/2012/09/darko-milicic-can-serve-purpose-for-celtics-even-if-he-never-fulfills-past-expectations.html
2 comments:
Lex,
I''m really enjoying your ongoing dissection of the Darko mystery.
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