Chiseled Curry makes his return
1:40 PM By Alan Hahn
Eddy Curry practiced with th team today and, according to Newsday's Barbara Barker, who covered practice at the MSG Training Center, the 7-foot center looked noticably leaner."It's sure good to be back," Curry said afterward. "I would love to be back on the court. I can't wait until I'm in a game."
With two games in the next three days, it is not likely to happen until next week. After Friday's game, the team has a four-day break before they play in Indiana, so the Nov. 18 game against the Pacers appears to be the target date.
It still remains to be seen what Curry can do basketball-wise after being off the court and so badly out of shape over the past year. But on appearance alone, there is reason for optimism.
"He looks good," Mike D'Antoni said. "It's good to get him on the court and get started. We'll see how long this process is. Physically, he looks good."
We reported in today's Newsday that multiple sources indicated Curry's weight is actually under 300 pounds. His listed weight is 295 pounds, but that number hasn't been accurate in years. Donnie Walsh said before training camp that Curry weighed in at 318 pounds. According to personal trainer Tommy Weatherspoon, who was hired to get him in condition this offseason, Curry topped out at almost 360 pounds at the end of last season.
Weatherspoon helped Curry lose a great deal of the weight, but he told me in July that the coaching staff was "delusional" if they thought he could ever again play at under 300 pounds. Knicks longtime strength coach Greg Brittenham, however, proved it was possible. Curry worked two-to-three times daily with Brittenham, another team trainer Dave Hancock and newly-hired "performance specialist" Andy Barr, over the past month with a regimen that varied from extensive work in the pool to boxing training and, of course, basketball drills.
Curry still has to prove his low-post game can be effective in D'Antoni's system, but you have to expect the Knicks will do whatever they can to properly incorporate Curry into the gameplan. Not only does the team need a go-to scoring threat on the low post (remember, Curry proved he could be a dominant scorer in 2006-07), but they need to pump up his value if they are to trade him before the February trade deadline to ensure the ability to offer not one but two max contracts in 2010.
This is a very critical moment. And even in his optimism, Walsh admitted he isn't yet convinced that it'll work this time with Curry.
"I'm not," Walsh said. "That's the whole idea. We've done everything we can to get him to the point where he can do that. But until he does it, I'm not certain."
* * *
The Knicks also welcomed back another player, Nate Robinson, who said he might be able to return from his sprained right ankle as early as tomorrow against the Atlanta Hawks.
chiseled? i didn't know you could chisel jell-o.
11/10/2009 12:17 PM
