Well, Charley Rosen found some time to write this (and of course took a whole lot of shots at us) since he was obviously too preoccupied with his man-crush for Big Chief Triangle.

LINK

The Knicks are all worked up about Eddy Curry's being snubbed by the All-Star selectors. Zeke says that the coaches failed to vote for Curry because so many of them are Larry Brown loyalists and are taking their revenge for the way LB was so ruthlessly ditched last year.

Stephon Marbury claims that the voting for the seven All-Star alternates was rigged, and that the league office secretly picks the substitutes. Marbury also articulated his outrage by saying that Curry's being thusly dissed is "a (bleeping) crime."

In truth, Curry does have his strong points ... er, make that strong point. He can score when he catches the ball in the low post. As long, that is, as he's not double-teamed, and as long as he's only a single dribble removed from his shooting range.

What can't he do?

Rebound like a 6-foot-11, 285-pounder should. NBA centers are expected to grab one rebound for every three minutes of playing time. Given Curry's 34.3 minutes per game, he should be coming down with 11.4 rebounds per. His current average of 7.0 rebounds per game is about what small forwards should be registering, i.e., one rebound for every five minutes of daylight.

Play a lick of defense, especially against opponents who can turn and face. Which is why he's usually in foul trouble.

Run east-west or north-south.

Jump quickly. Which is why smaller, springier players routinely beat him to rebounds.

Make free throws regularly enough so that he can be a go-to player in the clutch. His success rate from the stripe of only 61.6 percent (not to mention his propensity for clanging his freebies in end-game situations) means that the Knicks usually go elsewhere (Jamal Crawford) when they need a critical score.

But the worst aspects of Curry's game are his inabilities to handle and pass the ball. Only two players have more turnovers than Curry's 162: Dwight Howard with 169, and Steve Nash with 163. The difference is that Howard also has 78 assists, and Nash has 525, while Curry's total is a woeful 34. That means that for every assist Curry accomplishes, he gives the ball away 4.8 times.

Simply put, double-teams totally confuse Curry. If he can't make a direct pass back out to the player who passed to him, then he'd be better off punting the ball into the stands. At least in that scenario, the opponents wouldn't be off and running on their way to an easy fast-break bucket.

The real "crime" is that Marbury and Zeke feel they must resort to such ridiculous assertions in the name of standing up for "Us" against the Machiavellian manipulations of "Them."

Oh well, such paranoia is only business as usual in the Garden.

New York heroes
On the basis of an admittedly sensational dunk over Michael Jordan during a playoff game, the Knicks' publicity machine has succeeded in deifying John Starks. Yes, he's right up there on the pantheon of hoops immortals along with such authentic heroes as Clyde, the Captain, Dollar Bill, Dave DeBusschere, and the Pearl. Disregarded is Starks' woeful performance against the Rockets in the 1994 finals. Also his penchant for scoring beaucoup points against the league's lesser teams, as well as his routine washouts against the NBA's elite.
Moreover, I've encountered Starks' game plan in a totally different venue. The CBA.

I was coaching the Rockford Lightning back when Starks was playing for the Cedar Rapids Silver Bullets. Whenever he happened to be on the bench, Starks made a habit of ignoring his coach and the ball game, preferring instead to concentrate on a more satisfying undertaking — consuming large quantities of popcorn.

Here's what usually transpired when he did play: Starks would dribble, fake, dribble, dart hither and yon, dribble some more, desperately trying to create a shot for himself. Only those rare occasions when he couldn't generate a makeable shot would he unload the ball to a teammate. Trouble was, the shot clock was usually down to two or three ticks, forcing the recipient to fire up some kind of prayer in order to avoid losing possession. Many of his teammates privately complained about Starks' selfish attitude.

It was understood that he was only interested in piling up sufficiently impressive numbers to warrant a call-up to the NBA. Nothing else mattered. Not winning. Not losing. And certainly not involving his teammates in the action (unless he could register a can't-miss assist).

Like Patrick Ewing, another ex-Knick who's been glorified by the Knicks management and the local media Muppets, Starks was little more than a clutchless, selfish, dim bulb.

New Yorkers will go to undue extremes to sanctify their heroes, past and present. I guess the streets of Manhattan are still so littered that clay feet aren't noticed.

If this guy can't understand why NYers love Starks despite all his flaws than he is an idiot.

Rosen is the ultimate douche

I'm pretty sure he picked up something itchy from a NY hooker and has been dogging the place ever since. The knocks on Curry and Marbury are one thing. But taking shots at Starks? Please

The Curry part equally sucks. Most of what he wrote is true, but its so thick with whatever his nasty agenda is any value his points have are lost.

I think the article on Curry was harsh but accurate. He's making the points that a lot of posters like to avoid.

I guess he's never seen Duncan or shaq absolutely brick up FT's either. It's clear that Curry doesn't yet have the all around game that most want from him, but what he does already possess is the part of the game that is hardest to teach. He can get it done inside against most teams and despite Rosen's assertion that Curry can't handle Doubles, he actually STILL manages to score well against teams that try to use that tactic. His passing is bad but he's making an effor to improve and I believe in time he get better.

He'll improve and then guys like Rosen with have to be quiet. Little by little Isiah has been helping Curry to improve his game. 1st mentally which was the BIGGEST hurdle. You don't hear anymore talk about him being too nice anymore. He was nasty in that Magic game and had a scoul on his face for much of the game. He's not a perfect player, but then I don't think anyone really ever put him in the Duncan and Shaq level anyway. If he ends up just a shade below those guys i'll still be happy with what he gives us. Let's hope he can keep improving his game in all facets.

Posted by nixluva:
It's clear that Curry doesn't yet have the all around game that most want from him, but what he does already possess is the part of the game that is hardest to teach.

effort?