NBA Milicic hoping to see more action

The 18-year-old rookie is mostly on the bench playing behind veterans.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- While LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony soar and score, Darko Milicic sits.
Unless he's at practice.
The 7-foot, 250-pound center shows up early for workouts, stays late and spends extra time working with coaches. Milicic is willing to do whatever it takes to get off the bench.
"Those are my games, for now," said the No. 2 draft pick, referring to practice. "I'm working hard to get a chance. I hope to play more soon."
While other top draft picks -- such as James and Anthony -- put up big numbers for teams that have struggled for years, Milicic scored his first two points in Detroit's 24th game Friday night.
"It's embarrassing," said Milicic, an 18-year-old from Serbia and Montenegro.
Understands
But he understands why he's spent much of his rookie season on the sidelines, playing just 23 minutes in 10 games through the first six weeks of Detroit's season.
Unlike James and Anthony -- the first and third picks -- Milicic is playing behind veterans on a team that has won 100 regular season games and three playoff series the past two seasons.
"He was put in a tough situation," James said. "There are a lot of veterans that play in front of him. He just has to keep working. His time will come."
In Thursday night's loss at Cleveland, coach Larry Brown put Milicic in the game -- with 49.1 seconds remaining.
"I wanted to see if he acted like he belonged," Brown said. "He acted like he was insulted."
Milicic had a shot blocked, and missed a dunk.
Even though the Pistons did not expect him to help them much this season, it's unusual to see a second pick relegated to the bench.
"We all knew his situation was going to be different from any other lottery pick," said Joe Dumars, Detroit's president of basketball operations. "We have a team that's competing at the highest level and we were not in the market for a savior, but we are all very happy with Darko's development."
Started as pro at 14
Milicic started playing professionally at age 14 in Europe, initially living in a room that was about 100-square feet. Last season, he had a 300-square foot apartment and scored as much as 37 points a game.
Brown says Milicic has not earned the right to play in a front-court that includes Ben Wallace, Elden Campbell, Mehmet Okur, Corliss Williamson and Zeljko Rebraca.
"It's not a bad thing. It's just unique to see such a high pick not play," Brown said. "What you don't hear or read is that there were teams that wanted our No. 2 pick so that they could take Darko. But we may not know until his third year, when he's about 20, what we've got for sure."