Eddy Curry may or may not play tonight – my bet is that he will give it a go – against Shaq and the Heat. But regardless of the outcome, Curry has established himself as one of the top centers in the East and, therefore, it should be a lock that he is named to the all-star team.
Shaq has played just five games this season, but he was voted on by fans who, apparently, think he has any interest in dragging himself to Las Vegas on Feb. 18 to be part of a show that has no place for an aging – but still dominant – big man who is coming off knee surgery and, as some have suggested, took his time to come back. But I don’t begrudge the fans. You vote for whom you want to see in the game. And, apparently, more people want to see Allen Iverson play for the West than two-time MVP Steve Nash. I guarantee if the players voted, they’d vote Nash. No one in the world is more suited to play the point in an all-star game than the Crafty Canuck.
The fans apparently aren’t as impressed with Curry’s emergence as teammates, opponents, coaches and the media have been this season. Curry finished eighth in the voting – behind Zaza Pachulia and Andrew Bogut?? Where were you Knicks fans??? – with barely 200,000 votes. Certainly he is behind Shaq in popularity and Orlando’s Dwight Howard in development (slightly), but we’re saying he definitely deserves to be selected as an all-star reserve (which is decided by votes from the East coaches).
Why? Just ask anyone he’s faced, and dominated, this season.
Phoenix Suns center Amare Stoudemire: “Once he catches the ball deep, he is hard to stop. When he is five feet from the basket, he is hard to stop.”
Milwaukee Bucks coach Terry Stotts: “Eddy Curry was a monster.”
Boston Celtics center Al Jefferson: “Eddy Curry is a monster.”
Portland Trail Blazers forward Zach Randolph: “Eddy Curry is a beast.”
Isiah Thomas will get to vote and should be campaigning for his player with other coaches in the East to get the well-deserved trip to Las Vegas. Some have suggested that opposing coaches might not want to give Curry a nod because it would look favorable to Thomas, who traded two first-round picks to Chicago to get him. Thomas’ antics this season – from the Larry Brown mess to the verbal altercation with Bruce Bowen to the alleged on-court warning to Carmelo Anthony before the brawl with Denver – have made him unpopular in the coaching fraternity.
“I think he’ll get a lot of support,” Thomas said today after the shoot-around. “Most coaches I’ve heard talk about him, they’ve been impressed with his play so far this season and I think they’ll continue to be impressed by it.”
With Shaq already on the team and Howard a lock as a reserve, there is a question as to how Curry may fit within the seven reserve spots. You can get around the concern about having three centers on the team by labeling Howard a power forward, which, for the most part, he is. Shaq might also consider taking the weekend off to rest his body to prepare for the playoff push after the all-star break.
Regardless, Curry deserves to be an all-star this season. The NBA is big on promoting its young, up-and-coming stars. He is not only one of them, he is also a rarity: a big man who intimidates.
“On a nightly basis, I see a lot of faces out there on the court from a lot of people who don’t really want to guard me,” Curry said. “So I think I deserve it.”
* * * * *
Stephon Marbury participated in the shoot-around and he says he’s going to play tonight against the Heat. It’ll be worth watching how his bum left knee holds up in defending Dwyane Wade. Thomas could try to use Quentin Richardson on Wade, but Wade might be too quick for Q-Rich . . . It’s so cold in New York right now, Jared Jeffries’ shooting touch feels warm . . . And to all of you Knicks fans – and James Dolan –
who are so pleased with this sub-.500 team and comfortable dwelling in the slums of the Eastern Conference, I present to you, Mrs. Rhonda Deane, from White Men Can’t Jump: “All I care about is getting out of the Vista View apartments, because there ain't no ‘vista’, there ain't no ‘view’, and there certainly ain't no vista of no view.”
Comments (7)
I agree with you Alan. Curry really has made great strides this season and is playing at an All Star caliber level. It’s also been too long since a Knick was an All Star and for obvious reasons, the league would love to have a Knick make the team. Curry still must improve his rebounding (how does a guy as big as Curry not get at least 8 rebounds a game?) and obviously his defense/shot blocking, however to be more of a complete player. Still, though, centers are hard to find and I’m happy with Curry’s progress and his living up to his potential.
Unfortunately for the Knicks, I think our season is heading towards a downward spiral and things can get very ugly soon. We already we’re not going to make the playoffs because you know the Nets, Pistons, Wizards, Magic, Cavs, Heat, Bulls, and Pacers will have better records than us. I think we’ll finish in the 30-34 win range, which while will be a 10 win improvement from last year’s fiasco, still is not good enough, at least for me.
The question is that when we don’t make the playoffs yet the team still plays hard for Isiah, and Curry continues his development, is that good enough for Dolan to keep Isiah around? I would hope not, but I think it’s fine in the eyes of Dolan.
Honestly, I still can’t believe Isiah has held onto his job for this long. Really, other than the Lee draft pick and maybe the Balkman pick, what exactly has Isiah done that’s helped us? He got rid of, what, 3 coaches, kept adding payroll and taking back bad contracts, stupid mid level exception signings, questionable trades for guys like Crawford and Q, and will forfeit 2 lottery picks to the Bulls for the Curry trade.
As bad as Isiah is though, Dolan is the real problem and we’re not going anywhere as long as he’s around. He is so clueless and loyal to a fault, it’s frightening.
Have you seen Curry rebound or blocked shots
Agreed.Curry has improved offensively, but he needs to improve his defense,be an intimidator.
Shaq and Dwight Howard do that, Curry doesn't.
Norbit Posters? I thought those were Jerome James promos.
Say this much for Isiah. He certainly does have luck. Every time he's about to run out of excuses he gets a game like this.
Setting the bar at being better than last year is a crock. How about measuring the Knicks against teams that have been rebuilding for 3-4 years.
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