Does Darko Still have a Role?

Putting aside playing against Dwight Howard, exactly what will be Darko's role on the Celtics?

On Wednesday, Boston acquired guard Leandro Barbosa, giving them 5 players who are legitimate guards, all of which could be described as combo-guards, though one doesn't shoot all that well, but can definitely be offensive-minded when necessary. Add to the storyline Doc Rivers' increasing affinity for "small ball" and the fastbreak, and all of a sudden you start to wonder where Darko Milicic fits in.

Paul Pierce to Teammates: Get the Ball to Darko

About two-thirds of the way through today's televised practice, Paul Pierce pulls aside a few teammates and gives them some advice: "You see Darko in the high post, get him the ball. He can pass that thing. Man. Darko flashes to the high post, you use him. He's smart."

Even with only one hand, Darko still isn't too shabby. It's also interesting to see the curtains pulled away on practice, and the support stars like Pierce are giving #99.

I don't have the video of today. But check out the pass in the above video at the 14-second marker.

(I also like that when Darko shoots, Dwight doesn't even make an effort to block it, cuz, you know, Dwight is 6-9, and Darko is at least 7-1)

Darko Takes Veiled Shot at Adelman

"It's great being around these guys, it's team spirit," said Milicic. "The guys are great, trying to make me feel good from the first day that I came here. [It's a] championship team, you can feel it from the first day. ... I'm just here to play basketball. We're all here for one reason: to win a championship."

Later Milicic added: "From the first day, I could feel a championship spirit. Everyone wants to win. And from the first day they tried to make me feel like I'm home. Great, great, great group of guys. Since Detroit, I haven't played with guys who want to win this much, and they're all in, 100 percent, as a team. So, it's great playing with these guys. Playing with these guys, you get a confidence. When you play on some [expletive]-up team, you don't get it." Milicic was likely referring to Minnesota.

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I think Darko may have been getting a little more personal with that comment than just airing a complaint about the Minnesota Timberwolves in general.

Darko, Darko, Darko

 WALTHAM, Mass. – Darko Milicic didn’t sign with the Boston Celtics until Sept. 28, the day the 2012-13 season officially began. At the time, his signing wasn’t a news item. It was deemed an irrelevant move by most NBA analysts. Thirteen days later, chatter about his potential impact on the Celtics has replaced all of the jokes about irrelevance. He’s now being viewed as a valuable piece of Boston’s championship puzzle. That’s quite a change in less than two weeks, but the change is well deserved. Milicic has seemingly secured the role of backup center behind Kevin Garnett.

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Yes, Darko, you caught us by surprise.

We knew the name, we knew the legend, we knew you'd been released . . . again . . . by yet another team.

But we didn't know the man or the player.

The videos started to give us an idea about the player (quite talented), and for you to continue to bounce back and move forward on your NBA journey tells us something about the man.

If you can stay healthy, play your assigned role, and give us even a modicum of offense now and again, you will not only be a valuable piece to the championship puzzle, you may become an indispensable piece, too.

Team Darko is Reborn

The 2010-11 NBA season was a busy one for Team Darko. Ninety percent of the Darko-related videos I’ve posted were from that season, and ninety percent were edited and loaded by Team Darko. Last season? A little bit more quiet. Rick Adelman assumed the reins of control in Minnesota, and took the Timberwolves in a different direction.

So it is good to see Team Darko picking up where they left off.   

The choice of music is even spot on – melodies of rebirth and lyrics of missed opportunities.

No missed opportunities this season, though.

Right, Darko?

Darko on the Fast Track

Well, Darko, I'm not sure how you did it.

You somehow managed to take my 5 Milestones for Evaluating Your Progress, which, at the time seemed slightly out of reach for you, and, quite frankly, I'm not sure you've even achieved one of them, and created your own path to success.

Where Lex thought it was reasonable to see if you could manage to lose weight, regain some of your mobility from 2 years ago, and possibly make the Boston Celtics active roster when the basketballs fly in November, you've leapfrogged your way to being named a strategic spot starter in games, gasp, long after the 2012-13 season kicks off.

Huh.

Who knew you were all that?

Still, if I might be so bold as to offer the 7-1, 300 pound giant one tiny bit of advice?

Make sure you show everyone you deserve what Doc has bestowed upon you. Earning the PT isn't the end. It's just the beginning. Helping the Celtics win games and becoming a presence in the pivot and on the high post, these are your goals. If you do that, you've finally found yourself a home.

Now go get after it.

Heat were also Talking to Darko

 

The Miami Heat are kicking the tires on a number of big men to round out its 2012/13 squad, one of whom is a member of the illustrious draft class that produced LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. Darko Milicic's agent told the Sun Sentinel last week that the Heat have inquired about Milicic after he was released via the amnesty clause by the Minnesota Timberwolves. "We have had some conversation," Marc Cornstein said to the Sentinel. 

"We've certainly talked about it." Milicic's agent called the Heat's overtures just "preliminary conversations," but his status as an amnestied player gives Miami some help in signing him. The 7-foot Milicic offers a size advantage over Turiaf, but Miami could still go with recent draft pick Justin Hamilton or reserve center Dexter Pittman as well. 

"He's at a real pivotal point of his career, and this is a very big decision for him, and I think he's taking it as much," Cornstein said, "and I certainly don't think money will be the deciding factor.

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The Darko Chronicles continue.

Milicic too much for Duncan; Spurs forced to Double Team

 St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
Copyright 2010 Saint Paul Pioneer Press

November 25, 2010

The Spurs' comeback countered impressive performances from Kevin Love, who had game-highs of 32 points and 22 rebounds, and Darko Milicic, who is becoming one of the NBA's top comeback stories. Milicic, averaging 22 points and 10 rebounds in the Wolves' previous two games, followed up with 22 points, eight rebounds, five blocked shots and four assists.

Milicic might have done more if he hadn't fouled out 10 seconds into overtime. One of the highlights for Rambis was seeing the Spurs forced to throw double-teams at Milicic when veteran all-star center Tim Duncan was unable to defend Milicic by himself.

The Darko and Dooling Moves Continue to Intrigue

As the Darko story continues to unfold, I still find the backstory from over the summer a bit puzzling. Darko was amnestied by the Minnesota Timberwolves on July 12, 2012. Danny Ainge was the first GM to call. Yet Milicic didn't sign with the club until the end of September. Indeed, he had flown back to Serbia, and was entertaining thoughts of playing in Europe.

What took so long for Darko to decide?

What was the tipping point?

Had he already made a commitment back in July?

Also curious was the timing of Keyon Dooling's retirement, coming within 24 hours of the Darko signing. This makes it seem like Darko, Doc, and Danny had reached some sort of tentative understanding in July, and Dooling, who had just re-upped on July 31, agreed in advance that he would exit should Darko decide to join the C's.

Hopefully, someone in the media will piece this together at some point.

Darko and the Flip Shot -- A Second Look

I know we looked at this before. And at least one writer took exception to his excessive use.

But upon closer examination, Darko hits these shots with a high percentage, and it's not like it's the only shot in his arsenal. In the NBA, seven-footers can make a career off of a shot like this.

We'll take this one under advisement.

But let's just say the videos have brought me back to neutral on Darko's offensive capabilities.

Doc Playing Shrink with a Deft Touch

Sometimes reading the tea leaves isn't all it's cracked up to be. I know Danny recently said something to the effect of no big has done anything but excel in Doc's system. Many of us begged to differ. Some of us rattled off, oh, I don't know, let's just say a dozen or so exceptions.

I'd like to focus briefly on one. Patrick O'Bryant, or POB for short. POB had a few older Celtics fans excited when the Celtics signed him. He started his career in Golden State. At 7-0 with a reach that went to the heavens, he had all the raw elements you could ask for in a big. Critics said that he lacked motivation and focus, that he lacked heart. No problem, we thought. He's coming to the Celtics, home of some of the great reclamation projects in NBA history. The name Robert Parish ring a bell?

Alas, it wasn't to be.

Why it didn't work out was always a bit of a mystery, to me anyway. It wouldn't have been unreasonable to conclude, until recent revelations, that Doc never gave him a chance. POB never played any meaningful minutes, and was discarded almost as quickly as he was acquired. "Doc doesn't know how to coach bigs" was a sentiment whispered among some fans and pundits alike.

Turns out we didn't know jack.

Who is that #99 Guy in Green?

While I won't get to see the game until tonight or tomorrow morning, I think our boy Darko is warming up to this Celtic thing. First he hits Jeff Green for an open three, as if he's been playing high post since Bill Laimbeer was getting punched out by the Chief. Next thing you know, "I am Celtic" is taking a couple dribbles, flipping a pass to JET, setting a pick, and then finding the time to turnaround just in time for the shooter's ball to swish through the net.

I don't want to get carried away.

But does anyone else even know Darko's a Celtic? I'm not talking about opposing teams, players, and coaches. I'm talking fans. You know, I had no clue Darko was lighting it up in Minnesota a couple years ago, and only the vaguest of notions that he even played for Minnesota.

Damn this will be great if Darko keeps progressing!

Fantasy Insider: Weighing the Good and the Bad with Darko

The Dark Lord Starting to Receive Fair and Realistic Evaluations

 

Milicic is a legitimate 7-footer. He can rebound and block shots, and he has a good variety of post moves. He's a perfectly capable second or third-string NBA center. Frontcourt depth is something the Celtics have needed most of all, and Milicic is an above-average reserve. The Celtics can use him when they go big and sit him in other rotations, and by the end of the season fans will be grateful he is there.

LINK

And there you have it.

Strip away the 2003 draft, the fan and media obsession, and, most of all, the name, and Gary Dzen from the Globe pretty much captures it. At halftime of yesterday's game, Donny Marshall and Tommy Heinsohn were also giving an honest evaluation of the Dark Lord.

Or maybe this is just "homer"  analysis by the local media.

First Half Highlights (including Darko's seated Rebound-Pass)

"I am Celtic" (no indefinite article)

The "I am a Celtic" franchise never fails to tug at the heart strings. During my youth, a day rarely went by that someone didn't ask me in one sport or another, "man, how did you get so intense?" I just figured we were competing, and there really isn't any other way to do it.

That's why when I first saw Dave Cowens play basketball, and shortly thereafter, the former Celtic in a plaid coat who coached Dave Cowens, I just felt like my approach to athletics had been validated.

If you run the search "I am a Celtic" on YouTube, it looks like there have been a few knock-offs of the original added to the collection.

Which got me thinking.

Has Darko Shed a Few Pounds?

Hard to say.

But it sure would help if he could be more like the mobile Darko from a couple years ago...

This Darko Thing Just Might Work Out

Nine years later, he is still only 27, and his reputation as an underachiever has been cemented. Milicic understands that stardom or even widespread respect probably never will come. At this point in his career, he just wants to be comfortable, appreciated, and not constantly reminded about 2003.

Milicic says he just wants to be accepted and allowed to be himself. He has a naturally shy demeanor, and the past nine years haven’t exactly helped him overcome his insecurities.
 
But the Celtics have welcomed him heartily. At Wednesday’s practice, Rivers joked with Milicic as he stood on the sideline, taking a break from the scrimmage, trying to get him more comfortable with the team concept. Milicic appreciated the gesture.

“Everybody is here for you. Everybody is sticking together, playing together, fighting for each other. That’s what the team is all about. “It’s not about one guy trying to make big money, a contract. Here they don’t care about that. “That’s what I see when I play against them and now that I’m here, that’s what it is.”

Milicic, who signed a one-year deal with the Celtics last month, needs only to come into games to spell Kevin Garnett — to rebound, play defense, and use his massive size (listed at 7 feet, 275 pounds) to his advantage. If he does that, he will have satisfied the Celtics’ requirements after spending the first nine years of his career leaving his teams and fans wanting more, much more.

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First there was the picture of Darko laughing with KG (above). Then there was video of Darko playfully inserting himself between Celtics who were exchanging words. Now we have Doc making an effort to have the Dark Lord feel welcome.

I've been hot and cold with this acquisition. I'm rooting for him because of the name on the front of his jersey. It's the name on the back that left me hot and cold. One day I post reasons to like the signing, the next day the opposite. Somewhere in the middle I suggest at the very least the signing gives us comedy relief. Those days may be over for me. I may be ready to start the Darko Bandwagon in Beantown.

Here's why.

Wolves Sing Praises for Darko

December 7, 2010

Monday's game reinforced one of the simple realities about the Wolves this season: Milicic is the team's most valuable player. Love and Beasley are productive and dynamic, but the Wolves found out again how difficult it is to win without the NBA's leading shot-blocker.

"Not having Darko in the second half was huge," Wolves coach Kurt Rambis said. "You could tell it took us awhile to get organized in the third quarter. He's such an integral part of our offense and he solidifies us on defense." 

The Serbian Shuffle: Darko Aping Ali

Long before Muhammad Ali earned fame with the rope-a-dope, there was the Ali Shuffle.

Take a look at video #1 above, then scroll to the end of video number #2.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that is none other than the Dark Lord doing his best impersonation of Cassius Clay.

That now makes two Celtics taking plays from the  Champ's playbook.

Three, if you count Doc Rivers using Ali's fights as motivation during the 2008 NBA playoffs.