A year ago, Isiah Thomas thought Eddy Curry deserved to be an All-Star. A year later, as the NBA breaks for All-Star Weekend, Thomas suggested that Curry might already be a dinosaur.
At the age of 25 -- and after two unprotected lottery picks were given up for him.
"It is a slow phasing out of the big man is what's happening in this league," Thomas said after he benched Curry for most of the second half in Wednesday's 111-103 loss to the Celtics in Boston. "A lot of teams are playing really small and shooting the three-ball. And if you don't adjust and adjust quickly, you can find yourself down 12 to 15 points."
Thomas often has used the "small ball" excuse while discussing Curry's shortcomings as an NBA big man. Despite his size and strength, the 6-11, 290-pound Curry is a traffic cone in the high-speed transition game that many, though not all, NBA teams play.
Of course, as Curry points out, teams played this way last season, too.
"I think everybody has a different point of view," Curry said. "From my point of view being on the court, it seems like the same stuff from last year. You come up against a couple of teams that like to run it up and down and play small, but for the most part it seems pretty traditional to me. Nobody's really coming with nothing new, from what I've seen."
It's actually Thomas who threw in a wrinkle. He traded for power forward Zach Randolph, a noted low-post scorer, and it immediately caused a logjam down low. The Knicks became easier to guard because they now had two stationary big men on the low blocks. And although Randolph puts up double-figure rebounds most nights, neither one brings much to the table on the defensive end.
But Curry's offense was such a major asset last season that Thomas used to suggest he could live with the defensive liabilities. As the No. 1 option on offense, Curry averaged a career-best 19.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in 35.2 minutes per game last season. But the numbers have declined this season to 13.7 points and 4.8 rebounds in 26.2 minutes.
So what is he doing wrong? What does he need to do? Work on his body? Develop a jump shot? Get in better condition?
Thomas says nothing.
"We gotta do a better job," he said, referring to the coaching staff. "He can't do anything. There'll be some nights he'll be very useful and there'll be some nights where the team is very small so it will be difficult to play the big guys."
This may be Thomas' theory, but it's not shared throughout the NBA. In fact, the Phoenix Suns -- the most popular example of that small-ball game -- traded for Shaquille O'Neal last week because they felt they needed to have more of a big- man presence. The San Antonio Spurs built a dynasty on Tim Duncan, a big man. The Lakers traded for Pau Gasol, a 7-footer, and also have 7-footer Andrew Bynum. Orlando is built around 7-footer Dwight Howard. The Nets' greatest weakness is the absence of a low-post game and when 6-11 Nenad Krstic is healthy, they unquestionably are a better team.
Another Thomas theory dispelled. Even his players have turned a deaf ear. Curry, who is aware that his name has been prominent in trade talks as Thursday's trade deadline approaches, has been careful to remain respectful -- even when he's being disrespected.
"I have a lot of faith and trust in my coach," Curry said. "If I'm not in the game, I feel like it's for a reason. Sometimes it's for reasons unknown to me, but it's not my job to figure out who should be in the game and when they should be in there."
Curry's job is to figure out how to play big against smaller teams. Thomas' job is to figure out how to make it effective.
Clearly, neither has succeeded.
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@Jey: I've mentioned OJ Mayo in the blog. I've said hold the Mayo. He's projected as a scoring PG...no thanks. The NBA is going back to the traditional-style PG. Those who can score but also are great playmakers. To me, Mayo = Marbury. Pass. DJ Augustin is in this category, too. Derrick Rose is your top choice right now in the lottery among the stud PGs. But if you can't land him, maybe you go for size (not sold on Hibbert either) and look for a PG via trade or the MLE.
@FixerNation: Not taking all-star weekend off, even though the Knicks are. Check here for that Trade Machine blog I talked about. Saturday night we'll blog the All-Star festivities and the game on Sunday as well.
Comments (8)
Eddie Curry could have used more time in college and came out too early.
First off, I tivo most of the games this year and its debilitating seeing the same mistakes again and again by Curry. Countless times Crawford, Jones, Robinson and Q-Rich waited for Curry to come in an help - a single word - Sacrifice. What I see is he is either he's late or misses the play all together. At least Randolph plays a little d and gets in transition a little faster than curry. Curry is way too slow. We need a big bad that can score, defend, and get back in transitional defense to stop the opposing teams. Teams like the Suns, Mavs, Spurs, and 90% of the NBA will cream us because they know we can't get back transition fast enough.
Not blame Curry all the way for a 15 win season so far, the other players haven't exactly been defensive gems either. Lee looks like he is lost at times on defense and his head has to stay in the game. Randolph could probably survive with a guy like Tyson Chandler type guy to cover his d mis q's. Jamal and Nate have to learn form Clyde Frazier in the Art of the Steel. Q-Rich has to get in better shape and he will be taken seriously. Jones looks good but consistency is holding his back.
Most telling of all is nobody takes responsibility. For anything. Curry says its all up to Zeke if he plays or not as if he is a seer reading the guts of animals to determine if the moment is auspicious. Never once does he say, or act as if its his responsibility to earn playing time. Ditto Zeke - what the league has to do with how Eddy Curry plays is a mystery to me.
No responsibility, no consequences, Dolan's life in a nut shell, and Zeke is more than happy to collect the dough without fear of ever having to earn it. Perfect team for Crawford.
Can it really be that Malik Rose is the player the NBA has evolved too? If Zeke's theory is correct than Malik should be just as ineffective as Curry. Yet when he goes in the game, basketball happens. Yet the guy who's a winner doesn't play, the guy who's a loser, plays. You earn the right to win. You learn how to win. You work to build the skills you need, the body you need, to win. If Curry was a boxer, would Zeke throw him out there to get knocked out and then say - "Boxing is moving away from boxers without skill and conditioning".
Curry doesn't have the desire to get better. Perhaps another coach could help him find that, have him sit until he earns his minutes, watch how the master gets it done, then try to accomplish the same thing. But he'd have to WANT to get out there - will he ever? Its truly a shame, a nice guy with great talent, watching his life pass him by. One fixer said it best, can't remember who it was, "Curry is a gymnast who got too big for somersaults and got thrown onto a basketball court" He doesn't know the game, and isn't taking the night courses either.
Luckily, this insures more losses. I'm hoping for better from Marion. The Heat definately need to get out of our way in the race to the bottom.
bring on KLEIZA!
Our new starting small forward
Willis – I think there’s every reason to question the quality of the coaching this team is getting. It ‘s also possible they’re simply ignoring Isiah at this point. But there doesn’t seem to be one way the coaches are guiding this team. The young players are left to flounder. There doesn’t seem to be a coherent plan for developing their skills – especially in a season like this, they should be racking up PT when we’ve got nothing to lose. Or, look at Isiah’s game management – atrocious. Substitutions: ridiculous. Defense? I don’t think so. Xs & Os: I’ve seen better in a junior high game. (Iso Craw at the top of the key – BREAK.) Who is the big man working with Eddy? (Slick move, Zeke – good thing you alienated Patrick, who was desperate to become his mentor. And you wonder why Isiah has so many enemies around the league? I don’t.)
And yet, I’m not claiming I understand any of this. If Isiah did anything well last year, it was to inspire the team to play hard for him. They believed in him last year. They weren’t a good team, but they left it all on the floor. Hence, they won a coupl’a games. Not because of brilliant coaching. Or superior talent. But Crawford could get hot. Lee would pound the boards. So we won some of the close games last year, instead of losing all of them this year. But it’s obvious the team has quit on him. In most organizations, that alone, is sufficient reason to fire the guy. Without even bringing up the terrible, terrible job he’s doing in so many other areas. But not in New York. Apparently.
Didn’t Isiah ask for 2 weeks back in early December to show improvement? Are they up yet?
Willis, you're right on. Curry doesn't have a desire to get better. It's a problem that the other (supposed) key pieces to this team have too.
The reason, I think, is pretty simple. Zeke had nothing when he came in, so he took a shot on a bunch of guys who had great potential, but flawed character or work ethic. He thought he could fix that by throwing them a lot of money and then figuring they'd feel obliged to play with a different mentality.
The problem - one Zeke should've realized once his Marbury experiment failed - is that he had it all backwards.
The few guys on the team who start with work ethic as their greatest attribute are now the ones with the best upside. Look at Lee, who might not be the most talented, but who first has that admirable work ethic and team-first mindset. he's working to develop other apects of his game (like decent post up moves that he's using more this season). Or Rose, who is probably the least talented athlete on the Knicks, but still hustles and has a more positive impact than a lot of other players. Even Nate has shown a willingness to change his game a bit and mature as a player.
Other guys like curry and marbury can say that they're going to work on being a stronger defender or team oriented player all they want. But no one is able to change that inherent character flaw they have that makes them lazy, stubborn, and ultimately bad team players.
You'll think they're changing their ways - it was just this season that the Garden serenaded Curry with "Ed-dy! Ed-dy!" chants after a big block and offensive rebound - but it will never happen on a consistant basis.
I just hope that whoever gets to come in to clean up this mess will realize this when they're rebuilding the team.
Curry is just too young, with too much potential, to give up on yet. I'd like to see him in a Knicks uniform with a quality coaching staff. I don't guarantee he'll ever have the fire in the belly, but judging him as "coached" by Isiah is premature.
This latest attempt to deflect by Isiah is crazy. His coaching and his personell moves have a lot to do with EC's performance. Yes EC has a lot to do with it too, I'm not excusing him. But let's see him put in a position to succeed, then judge him.
New GM, New HC, New Staff, New team. Trade away all the veterans for as much youth and future picks as possible. Keep Marbury only if the value of his expiring contract exceeds his trade value. No more long term contracts.
Look, the press is given so little that everything Isiah says must somehow be a statement of pure basketball wisdom.
Isiah is simply trying to be diplomatic; Curry is no longer a reasonable option. Isn't that obvious?
The NBA rules have changed thanks to Shaq bull-dozing his way around for years so that guys like Curry who are compared to Shaq's exploits under those rules fall short.
Today, hulking centers are getting called for lots more physical play. And Curry qualifies too often as a gentleman's hulk.
If we set aside the knee-jerk Isiah bashing, the real issue is that Isiah may be proving that having so many conflicting roles on a team produces more miscommunication than clarity. Having watched the Celtics broadcast, they fully, in a snickering kind of way, expected to see Curry on the floor taking advantage of his size. on the other hand, it is no secret that Curry is a dud in NY and the Celtics announcers even lament that sad fact for the sake of a contest.