|
BigSm00th
Posts: 24504
Alba Posts: 0
Joined: 12/9/2001
Member: #178
USA
|
Ricky Davis, you're no Michael Jordan.
But we can understand why former Cavs coach John Lucas got carried away late last season when Davis, a bench warmer for most of the year, went on a late tear, scoring 20 or more points in seven of Cleveland's final 13 games.
"I think he can be the next Michael Jordan if he develops into the great player he has the potential to be," Lucas said at the time. "Davis really can be as good as he wants to be if he continues to work hard and improve. We definitely want to keep him in Cleveland."
Your season's on the rocks. Your fate in the lottery assured. Your season ticket base is on life support.
A coach's job is no longer to sell great basketball. Right now, it's about selling hope.
Davis, as it turns out, wasn't the next Jordan. But he was able to capitalize on a last-minute chance to prove that he can play.
Will the Bulls' Eddy Curry and the Grizzlies' Stromile Swift be this year's Ricky Davis? Insider investigates.
Is Curry the next Shaq?
Shaquille O'Neal sat in the locker room with a wry smile on his face.
Reporters were asking him about Eddy Curry, the Bulls' second-year center who many compared to Shaq coming out of high school two years ago.
Shaq, ever the diplomat, was polite.
"He's a nice, young, aggressive kid," O'Neal told the Chicago Sun Times before the Lakers' game against the Bulls Tuesday night. "I wish him well."
Shaq is bored. With David Robinson saying his farewells and Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon with both feet in the NBA grave, the Big Aristotle has run out of worthy opponents worthy.
What happened to all the great centers Shaq?
"I killed them," he replied.
While the emergence of Yao Ming has given some hope that Shaq has finally found someone to battle in the paint, a dark horse may be emerging.
With the playoffs out of reach, coach Bill Cartwright finally has turned Curry loose. Tuesday night, Curry dominated Shaq in the paint, finishing with 20 points and six rebounds to Shaq's 13 points and 10 rebounds. Even more surprising, the Bulls walked away with 116-99 victory over the defending world champions.
After the game, Shaq finally seemed interested. He claimed that there were "about two or three legitimate centers," in the entire league -- himself, Yao Ming and ... "Eddy."
"He's only 20 years old," Shaq said of Curry. "He has plenty of time to claim the 'best center' title. Whatever title he wants."
Indeed, lately, Curry has been having his way in the paint. He has scored 20 or more points in his last three games, going for 20 against the Lakers, 26 against the Clippers and 24 against the Warriors. He recently dropped 24 on the Raptors and 26 on the Heat.
Is Curry's latest hot streak just a fluke?
"No, no, no," Cartwright said. "That's the point. Eddy does have all the talent, and he works hard. He's had other good games, you know."
The Bulls have to be drooling at Curry's offensive potential.
"He's probably the most polished scorer in the paint since Shaq," one GM told Insider. "If he gets in shape, works hard on his game and learns to play defense, he'll dominate in the league. Very few big guys have his confidence on the offensive end."
Curry's combination of power dunks, baby hooks and slick moves on the block have given the Bulls a dimension they've missed all season. Cartwright started giving Curry more minutes on Feb. 19 against the Sixers. He has played more than 20 minutes in nine of the Bulls' 11 games since then. His average in those nine games? 19.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg and 1.9 bpg in just under 28 minutes per game.
So why didn't the Bulls unleash Curry sooner? Poor practice habits, bad defense and a tendency to get into quick foul trouble. But lately, Curry has been pouring it on in practice, he's improved his rebounding and shot blocking on the defensive end and, for the most part, he's starting to keep his fouls down.
"My confidence is a lot higher now," Curry said. "I feel I'm on a bit of a roll. I love going up against guys like Shaq to see where I stand. I want to be dominant like him. He overpowers everybody, and I want to develop that."
Told that Shaq is a fan, Curry couldn't help but smile. "If we can do this against a team like the Lakers," young Curry summed up, "we should be able to do it against anybody."
How could Grizzlies big man Stromile Swift go from trade bait during February to the Grizzlies' power in the paint in March?
Thank Magic GM John Gabriel.
For months Jerry West had been pushing Orlando to accept a package of Swift and Gordan Giricek in return for Mike Miller. Gabriel held out until the Grizzlies finally agreed to part with Drew Gooden instead of Swift.
Before you go and declare the Magic winners in the deal, take a look at this month's stats:
Swift: 19 ppg, 10.3 rpg and 3.5 bpg
Gooden: 15.3 ppg, 10.2 rpg and 0.5 rpg
The Grizzlies have won four straight, in part because of the improved play of Swift in the middle. Swift, who appeared to be in hibernation for the first 2½ years of his career, has plenty of people besides Gabriel to thank for his recent emergence.
Start with the Grizzlies' front office, who made a clandestine visit with one of Swift's relatives during the All-Star break. The message they sent? If Swift doesn't change the way he approaches the game, he'll be out of a job in a year.
According to team sources, Swift came back to the team after the break a changed man. Finally, the Grizzlies are starting to see the kid they thought they were getting when they spent the No. 2 pick on him in 2000.
"He's got the ability to be a dominant player in the league," one Grizzlies source said. "It's all up to Stromile. Right now, he's playing the way we always envisioned he could play. It couldn't have come at a better time. He was running out of chances."
Swift wowed the Grizzlies with his freakish athleticism (he set team records in several vertical jumping drills) and quiet demeanor in pre-draft workouts. While the Grizzlies knew he'd have to fill out to play power forward full time, they were shocked by his lack of work habits and low threshold for pain once he joined the team.
Over the past month, however, Swift's practice habits have improved, as has his aggressiveness on the court. Having Miller, Pau Gasol and Wesley Person on the perimiter also has opened things up for Swift in the paint. But he still wouldn't be where he is right now without the direction of Hubie Brown.
"There's no question that we believe in what we're doing a lot more than last year," center Pau Gasol, who also has been on fire of late, told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. "Everybody knows their role. Everybody knows when they're going to get in the game and leave the game. That gives you confidence, too. We're much more comfortable in this situation, and you can see it on the court. Confidence makes you pay attention to detail. You trust your teammate more and make the extra pass."
Swift claims that the opportunity to play without looking over his shoulder has been the biggest change. "It's a mental thing," said Swift. "I just try to go out and play with energy. Hubie is playing me a little more and I'm just trying to make the best of the my opportunity."
#Knickstaps
|
3/12/2003 6:36 PM
