GREENBURGH, N.Y., Oct. 25 — Shaquille O’Neal, as he is wont to do, recently mused about potential heirs to his sizable throne. He named three: Orlando’s Dwight Howard, Houston’s Yao Ming and Phoenix’s Amare Stoudemire.
“When age does its thing,” O’Neal told The South Florida Sun-Sentinel, “one of them will become the new master.”
Notably missing from the list of Shaq-sanctioned apprentices was the player once known as “Baby Shaq.” Eddy Curry once wore that mantle, a tribute to his Shaq-like combination of brawn and athleticism. Physically, he remains the closest approximation of O’Neal in the N.B.A.
It is Curry’s personality, it seems, that is denying him All-Star votes and a spot in Master O’Neal’s elite school for ninja centers. And so it was that Tuesday night, in the third quarter of a Knicks exhibition game against the 76ers, Coach Isiah Thomas grabbed Curry and told him, essentially, to be more manly.
“He’s a big man; he’s a nice man,” Thomas said. “But there needs to come a time when it’s ‘Don’t play with Eddy.’ We want him to really have a presence out on the floor.” Thomas clarified that by “presence,” he meant “his manliness.”
At a glance, the 23-year-old Curry cuts an imposing figure: 6 feet 11 inches, 285 pounds, his bulging muscles outlined with tattoos. But the tattoos might as well be of bunnies and daisies.
There is no apparent snarl. Curry is unfailingly polite, good-humored and kind — all fine attributes. But Thomas would like Curry to leave the kindness for Sunday afternoon strolls in the park and bring a little malice to the basketball court.
Thomas said that Curry did not need to pummel anyone or break any rules, but that he had to adopt a posture that intimidated opponents.
“He’s such a big man that he, like Shaq, is officiated differently,” Thomas said. “Because they’re so big, players get away with an extra pull and an extra hit and an extra push. And he’s got to get to the point where he’s not depending on the official to stop that guy from holding him and putting his hands on him. He’s depending on himself to say, ‘The next time you put your hands on me, I’m going to put my hands on you.’ Then it stops.”
There are times when Curry seems primed to dominate a game. He posts up deep, overpowers or zips past his defender and goes strong to the rim, scoring four or five baskets in short order. But those streaks often sputter when opponents start slapping and hacking, leaving Curry frustrated and the Knicks looking elsewhere to score.
So what Thomas wants — and what the Knicks badly need — is for Curry to find a little attitude, and mental toughness, to go with his considerable strength and skill set. This is a sermon that Curry, going into his sixth pro season, has heard many times. But the impromptu chat Tuesday night was a first since Thomas became his coach.
“He doesn’t want anybody to feel like they can touch me out there,” Curry said. “He wants them to feel like if they touch me, they’re going to get hurt. I’ve got to find a way to portray that, legally, so I’m not drawing fouls.”
Thomas said that O’Neal and Patrick Ewing also got pushed around as young players before developing an edge.
“There’s a certain aura that big people eventually grow into,” Thomas said. “It takes a while before they get it. You grow into that guy all of a sudden where everybody walks into the gym and they go, ‘I don’t think I want to mess with him.’ ”
Curry is shooting .707 from the field (29 for 41) and averaging 14.8 points in the preseason. He has been more aggressive on the post and quicker to drive the lane. But as often happened last season, his teammates sometimes forget about him. That rarely happens to O’Neal, who demands the ball and respect.
“We’ve got to do a better job of recognizing when we’ve got a big man hot,” Thomas said.
Curry admitted that his mellow persona could be a detriment on the court. But he is working on it.
“It’s tough, but I’ve just got to kind of develop two personalities,” he said. “I’ve got to be able to go out there and be one person, and once the game is over I’ve got to be another person.”
Asked how he might create that alter ego, Curry quipped, “I’m going to take some acting classes.”
REBOUNDS
The Knicks fortified their frontcourt by signing center Kelvin Cato. A nine-year veteran, Cato split last season between Orlando and Detroit but played sparingly in both places and was not re-signed by the Pistons. Cato has a career average of 1.29 blocks a game and could fill the Knicks’ need for a defensive-minded big man. Jerome James was expected to fill that role but has been sidelined all month because of plantar fasciitis. He is likely to miss the season opener Nov. 1. Cato said he had other offers but chose the Knicks in part because of his friendship with Steve Francis. The two spent six seasons as teammates, in Houston and Orlando. ... The Knicks exercised contract options on Channing Frye, David Lee and Nate Robinson, locking them up through the 2007-8 season. ... The Knicks waived their four training-camp invitees — Elton Brown, Paul Miller, Nikoloz Tskitishvili and Milone Clark.
all kool aid all the time.
10/25/2006 11:21 PM
