I know hes not there yet, but I figure its worth a discussion. Will Curry be the new coming of Shaq? Who is better now?

IMO Shaq is better now because he still has his size and strength and the experience to know how to use it. I don't think Curry knows how to use his yet. It's like he is just hitting puberty and is in that awkward phase.

Give Curry a year or two and he may be better than Shaq is now though.

I assume you mean in terms of talent is Shaq was playing right? Because techinically Curry is better since Shaq has been injured.

I dont know, even Marc Berman admits that Curry has looked incredible in the post this season. At such a young age, I can see him continuing to make strides in improving his game. Hes obviously not comparable to Shaq when he was in his prime, but I definetely think hes a better player know. That being said, I think Shaq sucks. But can you imagine how Curry will look if he steps up his defense and free throw to merely acceptable levels? Just sick.

One Word



DEFENSE

I think a big part of Curry's problems in the past were his mind. I think Curry's ressurection has been due to... his mind and hard work (ok, I'm simplifying here). Since app. Late November he has totally changed. I mean his scoring went up quite a bit and it's stayed up. looking at some of his quotes lately, it appears that he is taking on responsibility and playing with, if I dare say, passion.

When you have a player with his talent, and his mind/confidence starts to fall into place, throw in some passion and what not,... and you got yourselves a hell of a player. His D will improve but I don't know if he will ever become just a "good" defender. In particular against penetration. Let's see what this guy turns into cause we really don't know if the other aspects of his game will also improve.

I think when your confidence is up and things start falling together in "the team" sense, everbody's game starts to improve. I'd love to see this team in the playoffs and playing well.

EMS

edit - To add something about Curry's game:
His Dec Mins were up 16%, from 31 to 36, compared to Dec.
His Dec Scoring was up 44% from 15 to 21.6, compared to Dec.
This is HUGE.

[Edited by - earthmansurfer on 01-07-2007 12:03 PM]

Posted by Bonn1997:

Lol i dont think its that crazy of a comparison.

Hes Shaq at 24
LAL 51 51 38.1 .557 .000 .484 3.8 8.7 12.5 3.1 0.9 2.9 2.86 3.50 26.2

Obviously not comparable. Shaq in his prime was Shaq in his prime. Heres Shaq last year,
MIA 59 58 30.6 .600 .000 .469 2.9 6.3 9.2 1.9 0.4 1.8 2.85 3.90 20.0

and Curry this year
06-07 NYK 36 36 33.6 .574 .000 .583 2.4 4.7 7.2 0.7 0.4 0.6 3.25 3.40 18.7

Def similar, and I think that Currys averages will be around 20/8 by years end. If the improvement in this guys game keeps up, where do you think he will be in a couple years?

ok, i think we need to take a step back and return to the planet earth.

shaq rebounded the ball and played SOME defense. not to mention that he was dunking on people's heads. not alleyoop dunks, but post up, turnaround dunks.

totally different intimidation factor.

i understand everyone is happy and excited about eddy's offensive game but come on people, there's another end of the court.

Biggest difference is Shaq's ability to pass out, reposition, pass out of the double and find open shooters. He was great at this even when he was at Orlando and younger than Curry is now.

Posted by VDesai:

Biggest difference is Shaq's ability to pass out, reposition, pass out of the double and find open shooters. He was great at this even when he was at Orlando and younger than Curry is now.

Curry really improved his passing out this past week. I mean noticeably improved it.

Posted by Marv:

wow, who would have thought dj and bonn would represent planet earth??

Yeah, the part about DJ is truly shocking!

Posted by izybx:

Maybe I should reiterate some things...

1. Shaq in his prime WAS one of the best centers ever. I am not saying there is a comparison.

2. Curry and Shaq are similar in their offensive style and body type, that is why im mentioning them in the same sentence. Im not saying Curry= Shaq

3. I think Curry is better (recently) then Shaq is now (including last year). That being said Shaq is in the twilight of his career.

What type of player do you guys see Curry becoming? I have noticed that this season he has learned to control himself in the paint. How many times have you seen him lower his shoulder the last couple of months and just bowl over the defender this season? If he can improve of offense is it unfeasible that he could improve on dcefense too? Do you guys think he has peaked in terms of his development?

good signs:

he's learning to not barrel people over with his shoulder.

he's picking kup fewer early fouls, especially offensive ones.

showing more stamina.

he's bouncing back better after poor games, as opposed to his folding for long stretches as he has in the past.

bad signs:

rebounding. after a nice stretch of double-figure board games, he's reverted back, including several 3-rebound games. the guy can't continie to live off of david lee's boarding and just stand around rather than fight for it.

defense. he's gotta move more. hustle, seal off, chase guys who beat the guards and go to the rim.

in tems of development? i was very pleasently surprised by his board work earler this season, and now he's regressed. he's gotta learn that 20+ points is not the measuring stick of a successful game for him. he's gotta bust it on the defensive end and realize that it's his job to protect and dominate the goal at the defensive end.

he's surprised me at times this year so i'll still say it could happen. but he's gotta bring it every single night, and that's still a huge challenge and one that we don't knowe if he's gonna be up to.