Magic lead by 9 going into the 4th qtr. Darko and Howard have absolutely crushed the Spurs in the paint tonight. Not sure what the stats say but that's how the game has gone.

To be fair, no Manu for SA and Parker is at %50 with the flu.

A SA loss means Detroit locks up the league's best record.

Duncan with 29 10 and 5, but it sure doesn't feel like it.

If Orlando goes on to win, I wonder if we'll start drastically cutting minutes for a starter or two for each game remaining. I know we're not into records and all that, but will certain players want to keep playing around 30-35 minutes per game to stay sharp? I imagine Rip, Sheed and Tay will be okay with decreased minutes, Chauncey will be indifferent, and Ben will want a normal amount of playing time. I really hope Delfino can get some burn soon or else we may be losing him soon.

I'm glad that the Spurs are losing, but I'm pissed that Orlando is playing so well. I went that friggin pick to be worth a damn next year. [smilie=angryfire.g:

I'm also pissed that Darko looks so impressive again against the defending champs this time.

Youre thinking about it the wrong way.

The better they finish, the worse pick theyll have this year's draft.

Youre thinking about it the wrong way.

The better they finish, the worse pick theyll have this year's draft.

I've thought about it like that too, but with the way they're playing, they don't need a draft pick. They'll challenge for the 4th seed easily with the way they're playing right now.

BTW, Darko looks unstoppable right now. He's draining everything from the perimeter, make nice post moves, and defending well. 12 points and 7 boards.

I've seen a LOT of young teams finish a season strong and then bring the same cast back and totally suck.

Golden State is a prime example. They were on FIRE the 2nd half of the season after they got Baron Davis.

There's no guarentee next year when the darko/arroyo novelty wears off and teams start taking orlando seriously, that Orlando wont go back to being Orlando again.

I just dont see any veteran leadership to get Orlando through the dog days of a season. Thayre a very young team.

If Grant Hill comes back, I feel better about their playoff chances.

90-80 with 1:02 left, Poppovich raises the white flag.

Sean Elliott continues to bash the Pistons for the 374612743th time of the night why the Pistons didnt let Darko play more....

It's over. Pistons officially clinch league's best record.

Final score: 92-80

Yeah. This Darko thing is turning out kinda badly for us, but who didn't expect it to? It was a no win situation for us. Darko was going to go somewhere else and make us look stupid for not playing him, but oh well. If we win championships/contend for championships for 2-3 more years, it's worth it IMO.

Sean Elliott continues to bash the Pistons for the 374612743th time of the night why the Pistons didnt let Darko play more....


Well, I can't blame him. Right now, it looks real bad. At least I thought it wouldn't look bad untill 3-4 years down the road. I didn't think he'd be this good this soon. Makes you wonder what the Pistons coaches were thinking. I can't really blame Dumars because the coaches weren't playing him, he had to do something. But WTF is up with the coaches not seeing any of this.

It's the same deal with Delfino. He will be the next Darko. The difference is that Delfino has given us signs in real games.

Not getting into this again, but lets face facts: Darko quit here.

Even in his short 5-minute stints, he got abused by half the NBA. He never showed anything resembling the player he is in orlando.

Darko didnt want to be a bit player on a contender, he wanted to be a major player in Orlando. He got his wish, good for him.

But not for one second to I blame the coaches for not playing him more than they did. He was playing like garbage. AFter seeing his effort in Orlando, how can you say he wasn't tanking it here?

Not getting into this again, but lets face facts: Darko quit here.

Even in his short 5-minute stints, he got abused by half the NBA. He never showed anything resembling the player he is in orlando.

Darko didnt want to be a bit player on a contender, he wanted to be a major player in Orlando. He got his wish, good for him.

But not for one second to I blame the coaches for not playing him more than they did. He was playing like garbage. AFter seeing his effort in Orlando, how can you say he wasn't tanking it here?

[smilie=stupid.gif]

He didn't want to put forth the effort here and thus he isn't here anymore.

But not for one second to I blame the coaches for not playing him more than they did. He was playing like garbage. AFter seeing his effort in Orlando, how can you say he wasn't tanking it here?

Because I didn't see enough. It's easy to look unimpressive in limited minutes. Players are rusty, and out of rhythm. He never really got a decent string of games where he played in his entire career. Except for maybe in preseason (you know, when he looked like a player).

And I said I agree with Dumars getting rid of him. But I don't agree with LB not giving him at least a couple minutes from day 1. Just to keep him from going into a deep depression. I also think Flip handled it poorly. Darko was getting DNPs immediately after having a very impressive preseason and offseason.

goooood idea about not getting into it again. because if you cant see by now how detroit completely fucked up with darko, you never will.

and regardless of darko, orlando is a playoff team.

nelson and howard will be going into their third years (both), the year players typically break out.

so at the very least, they should have a upper tier pg, a premier big man, a decent bench, and a couple good swing players in tukoglu and their draft pick. if darko carries over his play to next year, they definitly should be in the playoffs. i wont say top 4 yet, but safely in the playoffs.

Because I didn't see enough. It's easy to look unimpressive in limited minutes. Players are rusty, and out of rhythm. He never really got a decent string of games where he played in his entire career. Except for maybe in preseason (you know, when he looked like a player).

It took Darko like 2 games to start putting up solid numbers off the bench in orlando. He didnt look rusty at all. There was no adjustment period. He just stepped in and started suddenly decided to start playing hard.

so at the very least, they should have a upper tier pg, a premier big man, a decent bench, and a couple good swing players in tukoglu and their draft pick. if darko carries over his play to next year, they definitly should be in the playoffs. i wont say top 4 yet, but safely in the playoffs.

Everyone said that about the Cavs last year. Didnt happen.

and regardless of darko, orlando is a playoff team.
finally a level headed statement about the orlando success. [smilie=applause.gi: Jameer nelson has made francis look like an overrated cancerous cyst. him and arroyo are running that offense better than francis ever did. any team willing to pay franchise ballhogging ass can have him. ballhogging is bad. but when its your PG, its really bad.

Because I didn't see enough. It's easy to look unimpressive in limited minutes. Players are rusty, and out of rhythm. He never really got a decent string of games where he played in his entire career. Except for maybe in preseason (you know, when he looked like a player).

It took Darko like 2 games to start putting up solid numbers off the bench in orlando. He didnt look rusty at all. There was no adjustment period. He just stepped in and started suddenly decided to start playing hard.

LMAO! Exactly when did he play 2-3 15-20 minute games in a row here?

Because I didn't see enough. It's easy to look unimpressive in limited minutes. Players are rusty, and out of rhythm. He never really got a decent string of games where he played in his entire career. Except for maybe in preseason (you know, when he looked like a player).

It took Darko like 2 games to start putting up solid numbers off the bench in orlando. He didnt look rusty at all. There was no adjustment period. He just stepped in and started suddenly decided to start playing hard.

LMAO! Exactly when did he play 2-3 15-20 minute games in a row here?

He actually started producing as soon as they started using him in Orlando. His first game he played a measly 4 minutes and scored 2 points, DNP against NJ and then put up solid numbers against Seattle(who are admittedly the worst defensive team in the NBA). Needless to say, he didn't really have any down time there, he just wasn't playing.

Watching the Suns and Mavs game right now.

3 Flagrant Fouls and a Technical Foul so far.

LOL@ Tim Thomas trying to be a hardass!

Watching the Suns and Mavs game right now.

3 Flagrant Fouls and a Technical Foul so far.

Make that 4 Flagrants.