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NEWSDAY: Isiah's got the recipe to get Curry in shape
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SugarRayRichardson
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10/16/2006  10:24 AM
BY ALAN HAHN
Newsday Staff Writer

October 16, 2006

Eddy Curry dragged his big body down the floor during a transition play late in the first quarter, and the 6-11, 285-pound center looked spent.

He could have put his hand up, begging for a rest, and Knicks coach Isiah Thomas might have ignored him. So Curry just kept playing.

And playing. And playing.

Thomas left him on the court for the entire first quarter and the first two minutes of the second quarter in Saturday's 102-100 preseason win over the 76ers. Curry, whose conditioning was criticized last season and will be scrutinized this season, responded by scoring 14 points in those 14 minutes before Thomas finally gave him a break.

"I love him for keeping me out there . . . It's going to make me better," Curry said. "Once the regular season starts, I'll be able to stay out there for the whole quarter."

This is true, as long as he stays out of foul trouble. Curry established a presence early in the game for several reasons - one, of course, being that he was going against reserve Steven Hunter and not starting center Sam Dalembert (hamstring) - but none more notable than the fact that he was in control of his body in the paint.

Curry, who relies on a power game, was called for several early fouls in the preseason opener against the Nets on Friday. He had three in the first half and played only 21 minutes. He finished the game with eight points, five rebounds and five fouls.

Against Hunter and the 76ers, Curry had 25 points, shot 10-for-13 and pulled down 10 rebounds in 26 minutes. Thomas called it "an all-star performance."

To have more of those, the fifth-year pro needs to develop a better understanding with the officials, who will be watching to see if he dips his shoulder to bull his way to the basket.

He did it early against the Nets' Jason Collins and was called for it. He did it only subtly a second time, but again the whistle blew, the official almost anticipating it.

Curry says those kinds of calls vary game to game for him. But the Knicks desperately need a low-post presence, so Curry has to find a way to stay on the floor and draw fouls instead of being called for them.

Thomas can't control that part of his young center's game, but he can control his conditioning. That's why Curry stayed on the court for the entire first quarter of a preseason game.

"I wanted to give him long, extended minutes so I could see for myself what's the exhaustion point," Thomas said. "Where he gets tired and can't push it anymore. Even when I took him out, I felt he had some more to give."

Notes & quotes: Jamal Crawford, who became a little erratic while playing a bigger role, hit the winning jumper with 1.6 seconds left in regulation. Thomas said he is not against using Crawford with Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury late in games. "He's a shot-maker," Thomas said.
I LOVED how Curry just exploded in the 4th, speaking as a fan of the Raptors, Curry looked well, scary I think is the word. Or Shaq-like Curry: 19.1ppg-7.3rpg-58%fg
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SugarRayRichardson
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10/16/2006  11:06 AM
A 100% positive article on Curry and no comments. If the articles headline was Curry is fat it would have 15 replies by now, lol. :)
I LOVED how Curry just exploded in the 4th, speaking as a fan of the Raptors, Curry looked well, scary I think is the word. Or Shaq-like Curry: 19.1ppg-7.3rpg-58%fg
nixluva
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10/16/2006  11:15 AM
It's a novel idea. Play a guy longer and increase his stamina, don't accept excuses or give him easy outs. Gee why didn't someone think of that earlier? Have you ever played a game and knew you were winded and found a way to just hang in there and then all of a sudden found your second wind? I was playing my sons one after the other and in the 2nd game I was really feeling it, but I didn't want to disappoint him by just quitting. I hung in there and paced myself just enough to catch my breath and finished the 2nd game. I think i'll be even stronger the next time due to that extra effort, which I haven't done in about 15 years.

I think Isiah is DEAD SERIOUS about trying to give Curry every opportunity to improve as a player. Despite how tired most of us are with him and some have just given up on him, Isiah knows that Curry is a BIG key to this teams future. He's the same age as Frye and he has a whole career ahead of him. Isiah has to do the best he can to help Curry get better.
SugarRayRichardson
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10/16/2006  11:18 AM
Absolutely the only way to get in great game shape is to just keep playing balls to the walls hoops. Its different muscles than riding a bike etc.
I LOVED how Curry just exploded in the 4th, speaking as a fan of the Raptors, Curry looked well, scary I think is the word. Or Shaq-like Curry: 19.1ppg-7.3rpg-58%fg
Nalod
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10/16/2006  11:22 AM
Posted by nixluva:

It's a novel idea. Play a guy longer and increase his stamina, don't accept excuses or give him easy outs. Gee why didn't someone think of that earlier? Have you ever played a game and knew you were winded and found a way to just hang in there and then all of a sudden found your second wind? I was playing my sons one after the other and in the 2nd game I was really feeling it, but I didn't want to disappoint him by just quitting. I hung in there and paced myself just enough to catch my breath and finished the 2nd game. I think i'll be even stronger the next time due to that extra effort, which I haven't done in about 15 years.

I think Isiah is DEAD SERIOUS about trying to give Curry every opportunity to improve as a player. Despite how tired most of us are with him and some have just given up on him, Isiah knows that Curry is a BIG key to this teams future. He's the same age as Frye and he has a whole career ahead of him. Isiah has to do the best he can to help Curry get better.


I thought larry tried this last season. ANd Eddy got worse!

Hey, you bought it up.

I did not see the Philly game, but this is more like what we all hope! Eddy looked bad Fri nite, but this is what he is capable of.

It would make me happy to not give bulls any more lotto picks!
Elite
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10/16/2006  11:25 AM
I think they should leave eddy in even if he gets foul trouble especially in the begining of the year, **** it let him foul out.. as long as he gets a good run
SugarRayRichardson
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10/16/2006  11:39 AM
Posted by Elite:

I think they should leave eddy in even if he gets foul trouble especially in the begining of the year, **** it let him foul out.. as long as he gets a good run


I agree. This foul trouble bs that LB supporters like to pose is a red herring. He averaged around 3.3 a game and only fouled out of 1-2 games. Let him play. If he fouls out then he fouls out. I'd rather him foul out then finish the game with 3 fouls and 20 minutes.
I LOVED how Curry just exploded in the 4th, speaking as a fan of the Raptors, Curry looked well, scary I think is the word. Or Shaq-like Curry: 19.1ppg-7.3rpg-58%fg
fishmike
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10/16/2006  11:43 AM
the more fatigued you are the more prone to injury you become. Anyone that plays sports not named golf or darts knows this.

Should we be happy that Isiah is running our franchise center in preseason games until he's ready to puke, just because he didnt come into camp in shape (again) ????

I mean, I'm glad he abused Steven Hunter. We have seen all this from him before. I posted his game lines in another thread. He's had many games like this, and will have many more.

We all know what Eddie's capable of, its what he's willing to do that bugs me. Until Eddie is serious about being a winning NBA he will always be something of an enigma. His first 2 preseason games couldnt be better examples.
"winning is more fun... then fun is fun" -Thibs
fishmike
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10/16/2006  11:44 AM
Posted by SugarRayRichardson:
Posted by Elite:

I think they should leave eddy in even if he gets foul trouble especially in the begining of the year, **** it let him foul out.. as long as he gets a good run


I agree. This foul trouble bs that LB supporters like to pose is a red herring. He averaged around 3.3 a game and only fouled out of 1-2 games. Let him play. If he fouls out then he fouls out. I'd rather him foul out then finish the game with 3 fouls and 20 minutes.
it was part of the problem, not all of it. Poor defense and rebounding helped get him yanked as well. If you didnt think foul trouble (especially early) didnt affect Curry's minutes you werent watching last year

"winning is more fun... then fun is fun" -Thibs
VDesai
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10/16/2006  11:48 AM
We'll see. I think his court awareness is lacking, but he also commits offensive fouls because he gets lazy with his moves...probably due to fatigue more than anything. He needs to be pushed and now is the time to push him. I'm still a little dissapointed that he's still huffing and puffing in the first quarter.
SugarRayRichardson
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10/16/2006  11:50 AM
Posted by VDesai:

We'll see. I think his court awareness is lacking, but he also commits offensive fouls because he gets lazy with his moves...probably due to fatigue more than anything. He needs to be pushed and now is the time to push him. I'm still a little dissapointed that he's still huffing and puffing in the first quarter.

If you play hard for a full qtr straight you should be winded. You dont increase stamina by cruising no matter what shape you are in. You increase stamina by pushing yourself to the limit. Its a good sign if was huffing and puffing. That shows he was working hard enough to increase his stamina. I didnt see where it said he was huffing and puffing though. Did I miss that? Regardless he dominated that game more than any other player on the court.

[Edited by - SugarRayRichardson on 10-16-2006 11:52 AM]
I LOVED how Curry just exploded in the 4th, speaking as a fan of the Raptors, Curry looked well, scary I think is the word. Or Shaq-like Curry: 19.1ppg-7.3rpg-58%fg
VDesai
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10/16/2006  11:58 AM
Posted by SugarRayRichardson:
Posted by VDesai:

We'll see. I think his court awareness is lacking, but he also commits offensive fouls because he gets lazy with his moves...probably due to fatigue more than anything. He needs to be pushed and now is the time to push him. I'm still a little dissapointed that he's still huffing and puffing in the first quarter.

If you play hard for a full qtr straight you should be winded. You dont increase stamina by cruising no matter what shape you are in. You increase stamina by pushing yourself to the limit. Its a good sign if was huffing and puffing. That shows he was working hard enough to increase his stamina. I didnt see where it said he was huffing and puffing though. Did I miss that? Regardless he dominated that game more than any other player on the court.

[Edited by - SugarRayRichardson on 10-16-2006 11:52 AM]

The first sentence of the article refers to him looking "spent" late in the 1st quarter. You should look like you're working hard and even a look a little fatigued, but not "spent." Spent means you still have poor conditioning. But then again, he responded by scoring a lot of points. If he can continue to respond that way when looking "spent," that's a good thing.
SugarRayRichardson
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10/16/2006  12:02 PM
Posted by VDesai:
Posted by SugarRayRichardson:
Posted by VDesai:

We'll see. I think his court awareness is lacking, but he also commits offensive fouls because he gets lazy with his moves...probably due to fatigue more than anything. He needs to be pushed and now is the time to push him. I'm still a little dissapointed that he's still huffing and puffing in the first quarter.

If you play hard for a full qtr straight you should be winded. You dont increase stamina by cruising no matter what shape you are in. You increase stamina by pushing yourself to the limit. Its a good sign if was huffing and puffing. That shows he was working hard enough to increase his stamina. I didnt see where it said he was huffing and puffing though. Did I miss that? Regardless he dominated that game more than any other player on the court.

[Edited by - SugarRayRichardson on 10-16-2006 11:52 AM]

The first sentence of the article refers to him looking "spent" late in the 1st quarter. You should look like you're working hard and even a look a little fatigued, but not "spent." Spent means you still have poor conditioning. But then again, he responded by scoring a lot of points. If he can continue to respond that way when looking "spent," that's a good thing.

Well he played the whole qtr and dominated the whole qtr so he was working hard. The spent word was the writers not Eddys or Isiahs. Isiah said even when he pulled him he had more left in his tank. Thats a stretch to make that in to "huffing and puffing".
I LOVED how Curry just exploded in the 4th, speaking as a fan of the Raptors, Curry looked well, scary I think is the word. Or Shaq-like Curry: 19.1ppg-7.3rpg-58%fg
VDesai
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10/16/2006  12:05 PM
Semantics. The point is I'm hoping that fatigue is at least part of the cause of a lot of his problems (the fouls, the lack of effort on the rebounding end, getting lazy with his mechanics), and that the fatigue part will be solved, ultimately causing things to start falling in place.
BlueSeats
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10/16/2006  12:12 PM
Meh,.... Eddy's gonna give us 28 MPG and score in bunches. What we need to figure out is who's gonna defend, when he's in and when he's out.
SugarRayRichardson
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10/16/2006  12:18 PM
Posted by BlueSeats:

Meh,.... Eddy's gonna give us 28 MPG and score in bunches. What we need to figure out is who's gonna defend, when he's in and when he's out.

EC defends his own man pretty well. Few center score big points on him. EC is just bad at help defense. I think EC is afraid to help at times because then his man is wide open and gets the rebound and ec gets the blame.

When our pg that plays no defense gets burned. EC moves over to cover said PG's man. Who is left guarding EC's man? Often nobody. Then EC gets the blame.
I LOVED how Curry just exploded in the 4th, speaking as a fan of the Raptors, Curry looked well, scary I think is the word. Or Shaq-like Curry: 19.1ppg-7.3rpg-58%fg
BlueSeats
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10/16/2006  12:26 PM
Posted by SugarRayRichardson:
Posted by BlueSeats:

Meh,.... Eddy's gonna give us 28 MPG and score in bunches. What we need to figure out is who's gonna defend, when he's in and when he's out.

EC defends his own man pretty well. Few center score big points on him. EC is just bad at help defense. I think EC is afraid to help at times because then his man is wide open and gets the rebound and ec gets the blame.

When our pg that plays no defense gets burned. EC moves over to cover said PG's man. Who is left guarding EC's man? Often nobody. Then EC gets the blame.


No doubt our guards leave our bigs exposed, but after 5 years in the league Eddy just looks confused and in no mans land half the time. I know Channing often does too, but he's a quick study and I expect him to get it eventually. Eddy I just don't know.
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10/16/2006  12:31 PM
It is also about the way he played and the way the couches use him.
If you are 285 you will never run as Nate or even Fry. And why he should.
This is the recopy for injury, hart problems, and falls.
He just need to stay with the opposite big man and lets other guys played 4 on 4.
You know Shak is a freak of nature but even he is not running like crazy. Couse he is smart.
Curry is not even close to Shak in this respect. He is big baby and IT should think for him and monitor his minutes and what he is doing on the court.
If he is more productive by playing 20 min on average and will stay healthy all season long so lets be it.
It is better if he will play 2 games 40 min, make 30 and 15 and then will be out for 10 games. What the point?
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." Hamlet
nyk4ever
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10/16/2006  12:32 PM
It's an idea but lets just hope that Eddy doesn't have the same foul problems that he's had in previous years. If he cuts down on the fouls, this will work, if not, it's same old Eddy.
"OMG - did we just go on a two-trade-wining-streak?" -SupremeCommander
SugarRayRichardson
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10/16/2006  12:44 PM
Posted by nyk4ever:

It's an idea but lets just hope that Eddy doesn't have the same foul problems that he's had in previous years. If he cuts down on the fouls, this will work, if not, it's same old Eddy.

Maybe we have to define foul problems. When a guy like JJ averages 3 fouls per 12 minutes its a foul problem possibly. When EC averages 3 fouls a game and rarely fouls out its not as dramatic a foul problem. Let the kid play. He fouled out of 4 games all year. You cant save the fouls for the next game so why leave him on the bench with 3 fouls when you get 6 fouls?
I LOVED how Curry just exploded in the 4th, speaking as a fan of the Raptors, Curry looked well, scary I think is the word. Or Shaq-like Curry: 19.1ppg-7.3rpg-58%fg
NEWSDAY: Isiah's got the recipe to get Curry in shape

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