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.

LINK

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.

LINK

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.

LINK

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.

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)

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...

The Darko Chronicles: Where FlCeltsFan May have a Point

Over the weekend, I was somewhat troubled by the report that Kevin Love’s earlier reference to “bad blood” being removed from the Timberwolves’ locker room may have been a reference to Darko Milicic, and not just Michael Beasley. The Darko barometer here on my blog again plummeted, forecasting storm clouds and rain for the 2012-13 NBA season.

On the one hand, it shouldn’t have come as a great shock. We already knew that Milicic had a falling out with head coach Rick Adelman, and it really isn’t that far of a stretch to go from problems with the coach to problems in the locker room. On the other hand, reports like this disappoint me because Minnesota’s Darko problem sounds a little like Boston’s Mark Blount problem from a few years back. This is to say, Minnesota overpaid for a player who showed flashes of talent and dedication, only to see that promise disappear over time, becoming victim to injury, attitude, and conditioning issues. The word “cancer” comes to mind.

How’s that for a thought to kick off the work week? 

Florida Celts Fan (FCF) has done her best to lift us out of the Darko doldrums.