With Curry Out, Darko Needs to Step Up

by Tommy Dee on October 7th, 2009 at 4:26 pm

GREENBURGH, N.Y. — With Eddy Curry missing in action from the Knicks’ lineup until he gets himself in shape (again), one guy who could stand to benefit is Darko Milicic.The 7-foot Milicic, obtained in a draft-day trade with Memphis for Quentin Richardson, is practicing with the first unit and could see additional minutes as David Lee‘s backup at center.

“I think [he] and Eddy were competing for playing time a little bit here,” Lee said. “If Eddy’s not playing right now, I think Darko’s going to get his shot. Hopefully he’ll make the most of it, but we are also waiting for Eddy to come back as well.”

The 7-foot, 317-pound Curry was forced to leave training camp on the first day last week with a torn right calf muscle. Knicks President Donnie Walsh said Tuesday that Curry would be held out of action until he proves he can run up and down the floor. He could potentially miss the season opener Oct. 28 in Miami.

That, in turn, opens the door wide open for Milicic, the No. 2 pick in the 2003 NBA Draft behind LeBron James.

“Oh yeah, he’ll play a lot. We expect a lot of him,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said on Wednesday. “He’s 7-feet long. He blocks shots. He really knows how to play. He’s a real smart basketball player. He is better defensively one-on-one than I thought. Mostly we expect him to keep getting better and better and getting more comfortable. He could add a lot.”

When he was just an 18-year-old out of Serbia, Milicic was drafted behind James but ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.

He has never quite lived up to the hype and is now seeking to resurrect his career at Madison Square Garden.

“I didn’t ask nobody to be the second pick,” Milicic, 24, told reporters last week at training camp in Saratoga Springs. “I didn’t ask nobody.”

Milicic spent two-plus seasons in Detroit where he was relegated to the bench on a team that reached back-to-back NBA Finals. He played in 71 games his first two seasons but never averaged more than 1.8 points a game. More.

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  • http://twitter.com/DellyTheGawd/status/4691179964 @DellyTheGawd

    @TommyDeeTKB tommy I remember u asked me why I love G.green…I think the D’antoni system is what he needs. He is fast and cheap! Plug it in

  • http://twitter.com/cheer4ever09/status/4691173111 @cheer4ever09

    @TommyDeeTKB Hi! Great posts, how many wins do you think the Knicks will get this season?

  • jbug187

    Tommy Dee, this is great! I love the posts you make saying that so-and-so needs to step up! There seems to be one every week and you’re right! Maybe you could do a huge post that says ‘everyone’ needs to step up! That would be the bestest! Stepping it up is what the Knicks need to do. Good call as always!

  • HaS

    Tommy?

  • SilentJay

    We’ve all discussed that’s Darko’s last chance to prove what he’s got. Granted, he didn’t ask to be drafted that high up and it could be chalked up to Dumar’s mistake. But that’s basketball, hype’s created around a player and he needs to show if he’s worth it or not.
    His blocking abilities and his one-on-one skills aren’t bad. Yes, he can bring defense to a team that needs it urgently, but a complete player is one who is able to get things done on both sides of the court. If he can connect his blocking and D with 8 or 10 ppg and good rebounds (maybe I’m completely dreaming, but now that Curry is pretty much chalked up to chance Milicic is gonna get a bunch of minutes), we might’ve just found a great role player to keep next year.
    That, of course, we have to stack it with the huge bunch of IFS we talked about that need to happen for this team to change it’s luck this season and the next.

  • DaGawD_KnowLedge

    dammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…….

    why don’t DANDUMMI play lee at his natural position phuk meng..

  • DaGawD_KnowLedge

    darko will be the key in the middle

    i luv lee but playing him in the middle in a big mistake..

  • Section 40

    If Darko does enough to earn a starting role on this team, I’m sure Dantoni will give him the opportunity. But the fact is that Darko has not shown that he is capable as a starter since he was drafted. Hopefully that changes. You can’t take any player off the floor just to move David Lee to PF. Darko has to be better than one of the starting five (whomever that might be) to justify the move of Lee to PF.

    The other problem is that Lee doesn’t really have the skills to play PF for Dantoni’s offense. Unless Lee plays C and Darko plays PF on offense , then they switch positions on defense. I guess that could work. It will be intersting…that is for sure

  • Sergio

    If Darko Milicic can be Chris Dudley, I’ll be very happy. Just rebound the ball, block/alter shots and give hard fouls. But honestly, I’m not expecting much. We’re talking about the biggest draft bust of this era (2000s).