It’s more than a bad matchup
I’m not sure Isiah Thomas is being honest with Eddy Curry right now.
There’s a strong possibility the former centerpiece of the Knicks is no longer part of the game plan. Seriously. All of this talk about bad matchups comes up a little short.
It’s a convenient excuse.
“He’s definitely in our plans,” Thomas said after last night’s win over Toronto. “He’s a big part of our plans, but right now the matchups aren’t there.”
And we’re all supposed to believe there’s an issue with the quickness of the Raptors.
Here’s a little something to consider, Curry averaged 20 points and 7.3 rebounds over 35.7 minutes last season in four games against that lineup, which is not drastically different. The numbers would’ve been even more impressive except he did get into foul trouble in one game.
It’s more than matchups.
Curry is a little fragile. He’s got all kinds of potential, but needs to play a lot of minutes to maintain confidence and stamina. The short leash is only highlighting the flaws.
Based on the rotation, Thomas needs to win right now.
If the future really was a primary concern, he would be letting Curry work through some of these issues on the court. Wilson Chandler and Randolph Morris would also be getting a look.
Amazingly, the frustrated middleman still has a sense of humor about the situation.
Curry laughed when asked whether he was regretting not being dealt on Thursday, but it’s a topic he might want to revisit at some point in the future.
“You know what? No. I love it here,” Curry said. “They kept me here for a reason, and I’m going to keep playing hard and just do what I can to stay on the court.”
Curry is by no means faultless. He knows all of his shortcomings.
Maybe there are fences that need mending. I noticed last night when the Knicks came back out after halftime, it was Herb Williams pulling Curry aside to inform him of the lineup switch. It wasn’t a long discussion. Williams also spoke with David Lee.
I’m not sure how to interpret that scene.
Curry seemed incredulous for a moment, and went right back into the lay up line. Maybe there’s no room in this lineup for him anymore. At least that’s a valid arugment.
(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
February 23rd, 2008 at 2:39 pm
I know that other players also get in shape by playing. But that should be in pre-season, practice. No professional team should have the need to sacrifice winning to get someone in shape.
Eddie talks about playing hard. How about practicing hard Eddie? How about working on your defects Eddie?
You know Zach Randolph might be a better option at center. Maybe he is the second coming of Willis Reed and Eddie is Walt Bellamy.
February 23rd, 2008 at 3:02 pm
First of all:
“And for the record, I’m not convinced Zach Randolph is the locker room cancer so many people who commented over the last couple of days believe he is. I kind of like visiting with the guy. So do a majority of his teammates.”
Thanks for that Mike. I’m sorry I doubted you Zach. It’s good to know that, and I believe it, but when you say “the majority of his teammates”, Does that mean that theres a minority that don’t like visiting with him? Who doesn’t? (and, no, I don’t know what we did before blogs).
As to Curry, I agree, he’s not Vinnie Johnson. I think he needs minutes to be effective, but if we can’t lose every game in the process. His fitness is effecting his quickness. He needs to adapt to todays game. Isiah is right, the zone defense is making it difficult on traditional post players. Ewing always seemed to have more room to operate. Our guards have a hard time feeding the post. Any point guards get waived? Nah, I want Michael Beasley.
February 23rd, 2008 at 4:05 pm
dan,
I’m not going to name drop because we don’ follow these guys around for hours and hours. Relationships are hard to judge from a distance, so we’ll stick with the generalization. And you’re right, a ture point guard would do a world of good for Eddy.
February 23rd, 2008 at 4:25 pm
What a shame it is that Patrick Ewing is in Orlando tutoring a man who will undoubtedly be one of the league’s most dominant big men for years while Curry seems to be wasting away.
I wonder what it would take to elevate Curry to the next level…
February 23rd, 2008 at 4:47 pm
of course we know its not only matchups Mike. Eddy and his problems come down to one thing ….......conditioning .He showed up out of shape and Isiah being the players coach he is didnt put him on blast but tried to give him a chance to work himself into shape but it seems he’s gotten BIGGER.How many lobs have we seen him fumble drop and totally miss ?Being fronted was a easy two for him last year now he has everyone afraid to throw that pass for fear he wont be able to make it to the ball and he is right.
The thing is Isiah shouldve done this at the start of the season.Eddy should have to be a certain weight to play and if hes not he sits until hes at that weight.Eddy decided to rest on his solid play of last year and its costing the knicks and Eddy bigtime this year.
February 23rd, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Curry should have to earn his minutes on the DEFENSIVE end of the floor. I am sick and tired of watching guys drive right down the middle of the lane and score while a big guy like him just let’s them do it. Also, he is so heavy right now that he gets called for al least 2-3 offensive fouls a game because he is lumbering around carring all that weight. You can see it in the picture above. He was much more cut and lean last season. You can’t blame Isiah if a guy is not doing what it takes to make himself better, or at least keep his game where it was last year. If Curry wants in, let him become as good a defensive player as he can be on the offensive end. The NYK already have plenty of scoring firepower. I’ve been saying this all season, this team needs to play defense or it is going no where.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:29 pm
The Knicks will end up with the 8th pick in the NBA draft. They can’t even lose right and they wont. Teams are catching up to them and they will soon drop out of the top 5 worst records in the league and end the season with their patented 33 wins. Better yet? Isiah Thomas will retain his job.
Everybody get on your feet and celebrate!
February 24th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Isiah says Eddie is a bad matchup for the Raptors. And he’s a bad matchup for other quick teams?
WHO IS HE GOOD MATCHUP FOR?
Shaq? Yao? Dwight Howard? All those guys have torched him too.
At the least, why doesn’t Isiah experiment with bringing him off the bench? The Knicks almost always get off to a bad start. And it’s not only that Curry is a below-par player, but that the other team has its best players on him and knows what to expect. Mix it up a little, Isiah. If for no other reason than for Eddie’s sake. Get him in late in the first quarter or in the second, if you want to play him so badly. Let him try to do his thing against the opponent’s second team, and not for a group that has game-planned against him.
Isiah is such a lousy coach.
And I wholeheartedly agree with George above. The Knicks are not even bad enough to be one of the worst 5 teams. Rily figured this out. That’s one of the reasons he traded Shaq—it gives them a better chance of losing. Get a higher draft pick. Enough of this facade of trying to win every night.
The Knicks can’t even lose right!
Fire Isiah! End the facade. Position yourself for the future—NOW!
February 24th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
At this point, the Knicks are in prime position for a greata draft pick. They should get a big man or a powerforward to assist with Curry down low. If Michael Beasly is taken before the Knicks pick, they should look into Roy Hibbert from Georgetown.
February 24th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Mike,
Can’t blame a guy for trying to get a little inside info.
Anyway, I think Zach is a good player who gets a little lost or maybe a little lazy on defense.
He’d get alot of respect and maybe an allstar birth if this team could get some consistent w’s. It looks like he’s won the post job over Eddy. So be it, but it would be nice for us to have a seven foot starting center one day.
February 25th, 2008 at 8:35 am
Wasn’t just yesterday Isiah told Marbury to take a backseat and give the keys to the knicks new franchise center?
Didn’t we give up two lottery picks for this franchise center?
And Isiah is already throwing him under the bus?
Granted Curry will never be the intimidator at center but didn’t you think Isiah should have done some due diligence before deciding to give up so much to being Eddy here?
Isiah has been exposed. Every move he has made was horrible and we are seeing the effects of it now.
I found it funny that when Isiah was booed in Toronto – Mike Crispino said that was a sign or respect :) lol
Are you kidding me???
It’s more a sign of the raptors fans know exactly how Isiah managed to run their franchise into the ground and it’s only after Colengalo took over – things are looking much much brighter for them…
One day NY – our day will come and it will begin when Isiah is fired.