Dario Saric is exactly what the Phoenix Suns need–nothing more, nothing less–not unlike Michael Buble’s All I Want for Christmas is You.
Phoenix Suns newcomer, Dario Saric, is Michael Bublé with a basketball—nothing spectacular, but he gets it done.
Bublé made a choice in his rendition of the Mariah Carey classic, All I Want for Christmas Is You. He decided to take the upbeat toe-tapping tempo and driving piano through-line and slow it down. Way down. Taking the ultimate Christmas party thumper and marketing it a melancholy reflection of longing and loneliness during the holidays.
The lyrics are the same but the approach differs.
Maybe it’s a personality thing. Or maybe Bublé just isn’t capable of keeping with the breakneck pace and vocal athleticism of Mariah Carey. It doesn’t make him any less a musician. But he’ll never give you the spectacular.
Such is the case with Dario Saric.
The 6’ 10” Croatian was a 12th overall pick in the 2014 draft by the Philadelphia 76ers by way of the Orlando Magic.
He didn’t join the Sixers until the 2016-17, opting instead to play out contract with the Anatolia Efes of the EuroLeague. Immediately, he posted strong rookie numbers, scoring almost 13 points per game, along with 6 rebounds and 2 assists per game. These numbers that have only slightly fluctuated in his three-and-a-half years in the league.
He’s sturdy and dependable. With Dario, you know exactly what he will bring you night in and night out. If you need 13 points with the occasional three, solid rebounding, and passing out of the post, that’s what he’ll give you.
If you need a big night from Dario, or for him to exploit a mismatch, he’ll give you 13 points with the occasional three, solid rebounding, and passing out of the post.
You don’t go the Saric to carry your team, just like you don’t go to Bublé to get a party going. You take what each offers you and you’re thankful that they’re not Darko Milicic or the Justin Bieber/Mariah Carey duet version of All I Want for Christmas Is You. Both were tragic. One by circumstance, they other by choice. Saric and Bublé are neither. They just are.