#1: We're tied for most turnovers per game in the NBA.

#2: We Need to step up our Defense - 2nd to last in blocked shots, too many Points in the Paint given up (wonder why Curry's +/- is always flat?) and too many 3's given up; Ranked 20th overall Defense......and it's only gonna get worse come playoff time.

#3: We're 3rd to last in Team Assists per game (need more ball movement)

#4: For a team that's supposed to have a beast in Eddy Curry and a phenom in D-Lee, our "In the Paint Stats" only rank 24th among all teams. Why is that important? Because we are a half court set team, and all of the good halfcourt teams in the league ranked among tops in that ranking...

http://www.hoopsstats.com/basketball/fantasy/nba/teamstats/07/4/diffeff



Based on those stats, I would get rid of Eddy Curry.

To put it in perspective, Kobe Bryant is a better defensive rebounder than him.

Also because of our lack of ball movement, I would much sooner trust the ball in ZBo's hands (2.2 assists/game last year vs. 0.8), and his ability to play OFF THE BALL (pass or spot up and shoot), further fascilitating team ball movement.

Check out these passes from Zbo and tell me if Curry could ever do them: http://youtube.com/watch?v=oVJvTCGduXg -- Curry just holds onto the ball far too long and his court awareness is poor. Having a dominant scorer in the post with poor court awareness is an oxymoron, which is why Eddy in reality shouldn't be allowed to play more than 30 minutes a night as a battering ram; not your premier big man on the floor. (stats actually prove this; Knicks 20-27 when he plays 36+ minutes; compared to his buddy Jamal Crawford - 17-16 with 38+ mins).

Basically Eddy CAN be effective, but only when he's scoring in bunches in short spurts.


And for a team that doesn't take care of the ball ALREADY, he's ranked way high in Turnovers per game with 3.6.


You could argue Dwight Howard has similiar problems. He doesn't take care of the ball and the Magic have a losing record when he plays 38 minutes or more.

3 differences that really separate them -

1) is the # of seasons played. Curry 6; Howard 3. Dwight's still green; Curry.......isn't.

2), is the fact that he plays defense. The Magic were a top 7 defensive team last year pretty much because of him.

And 3) - the fact that I SERIOUSLY doubt Curry can ever really get in great shape, to be able to effect the game the way Howard does. I'm studying to become a personal trainer & you can tell Eddy has "Oliver Miller-situs" written all over him; just look at the cankles.

Shaq does NOT have cankles.

Oh, and let's also throw in there that, like Zbo, D12 has a good +/- when on the court. Curry.....not so much --> http://www.82games.com/0607/0607NYK.HTM


Add all that up and we have a serious problem.


We simply can't afford to keep Curry around. And I'm not even bashing here; just using stats to peel off his protective coat layer by layer.


Listen, our efficiency sucks as is. He's just holding us down. Statistically he's not even a top 10 Center, which is terrible considering this is the weakest Center era of all time. (meanwhile ZBo is ranked 9th overall (just behind Howard) at the PF position in EASILY the strongest pf era of all time). I think people get enamored by scoring, but if you're not a versatile player, scoring become less meaningful, and based on Curry's stats, he's just not pulling his own weight, pun not intended.


As an extra note, I think it's entirely possible Isiah got ZBo to make Curry expendable (or atleast to test his real worth on the team), once he realized he likely wasn't gonna reach his potential after 6 years in the league anytime soon (and with the added pressure of a new contract to win NOW).


The question becomes, WHO IS CURRY'S REPLACEMENT?


Well, he would need to turn the ball over less, defensively-rebound the ball (since we're already an elite offensive rebounding team, even more so with ZBo's arrival), and basically be a good or very good shotblocker. And of course the trade would have to pass the "laugh test".

And if we're talking a 1 for 1 trade here regardless of draft picks thrown in, then he would have to make AT-LEAST 7.25 Million, and AT MOST 11.25 Million (based on the 125 % CBA rules)...........unless of course we're dealing with a team under the cap, or a scenario in which we can use the expirings of Dickau and/or Jones, then those numbers don't count.

Here's a short compiled list of likely candidates:

Samuel Dalembert - 1.6 LESS turnovers per game; very good shotblocker; solid defensive rebounder........SALARY WORKS

Marcus Camby - almost 2 LESS turnovers per game; best shotblocker in NBA; elite defensive rebounder..........SALARY WORKS

Nene - 1.6 LESS turnovers per game; good shotblocker; good defensive rebounder...................SALARY WORKS

Tyson Chandler - almost 2 LESS turnovers per game; very good shotblocker; elite defensive rebounder...............SALARY WORKS

Rasheed Wallace - 2.3 LESS turnovers per game; very good shotblocker; very good defensive rebounder................MUST INCLUDE DICKAU OR JONES


* Chris Kaman is BYC so is not included
** Ben Wallace & Jermaine O'Neal don't pass the "laugh test" (Curry would never rejoin the Bulls; Bird would never deal with Isiah)


Now of course Isiah COULD indeed wait a whole year to deal Curry (def. possiblity), so other candidates might come into the picture by then...


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Worth noting that if we cut down on Starbury's minutes, to around 34 a night, we should be in good shape. He, like Curry, is someone you just don't want playing heavy minutes; the stats prove it (16-26 with 38+ mins). I'd trade him, but who the hell trades for a $20 million PG who can't hack it anymore and calls his wife a "better hoe"?


Starting Lineup

Marbury, Nate
Crawford, Collins
QRich, Jefferies, Lee, Balkman
ZBo, Lee
Dalembert/Nene/Camby/Sheed/Chandler/etc, Jefferies, ZBo


Reserves:

Malik, Chandler, Morris, Nichols, Jones/Dickau


*Waived: Jerome James (we don't need his poor attitude & work ethic poisining our young guys any further)

Dan Dickau or Fred Jones (allows us to sign Nichols and keep a 15 man roster




That's basically what you'd be looking at. Not an overhaul, just a surgically precise improvement in just the right place.

Now of course all of this is only helping to make the best of a bad thing. We're not talking championship aspirations here or anything. Some playoff wins and some respect back to the Garden is basically what we're talking about...


But hey..............better than nothing right?





*** THE FOLLOWING WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY BOBS3304 - PROVING HE'S NOT A HATER ONE POST AT A TIME.***




[Edited by - bobs3304 on 09-06-2007 2:39 PM]