Curry rises against the Godfather
Curry: Is winning over Knicks fans. Picture: EPA
Sunday, March 4, 2007
KNICKS coach Isiah Thomas considered it a rite of passage when his beefy young centre Eddy Curry stood tall this week against the NBA's "Godfather" of big men, Shaquille O'Neal.
"I thought Eddy took a giant step tonight," Thomas told reporters after the 24-year-old Curry outplayed O'Neal in New York's 99-93 win over Miami on Monday at Madison Square Garden in a battle of teams fighting for a berth in the play-offs.
"You want to be recognised as one of the better big men in the league and you want the respect from the Godfather, and the Godfather in the league is Shaq.
"It'd be nice if the Godfather anointed him also," added Thomas.
"Not yet," O'Neal said when asked if Curry deserved mention among the NBA's elite centres. "You've got to win first."
O'Neal was talking about titles, not regular season games. The Diesel has four of them on his resume, one last year with the Heat and three in a row from 2000 with the Lakers, taking the NBA Finals MVP honours each time for Los Angeles.
Curry, meanwhile, is winning over Knicks fans with his rapid progress as a low post scorer, justifying the trade that brought him to New York two years ago from the Chicago Bulls.
The 2.11 metres, 129.3 kilogrammes Curry, averaging 19.6 points and 7.1 rebounds this season, poured in 28 points and hauled down 11 boards in his showdown against O'Neal and back-up centre Alonzo Mourning.
"It was a lot of fun," Curry said about going against the Heat's daunting duo. "I like challenges and that was definitely a challenge. I think I did pretty well."
O'Neal had 20 points but only three rebounds. Mourning, an All-Star during his prime, had 12 points and six rebounds.
Curry took charge in the third quarter, scoring 15 of New York's first 16 points and helping the Knicks to outscore Miami in the paint 44-32.
"He's a good player, an aggressive player," said the 2.16m O'Neal, who fell into foul trouble trying to stop Curry's aggressive moves to the hoop.
Miami coach Pat Riley, who coached high-scoring centre Kareem Abdul-Jabbar during a run of championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and had Patrick Ewing at centre during his tenure with the Knicks, knows all about top-flight centres.
"Curry has made big strides," Riley said before the game. "He's number one in points in the paint in the NBA. He's a load down there and he has some athleticism for a man his size. He's definitely turned the corner."
The Knicks under Thomas, who had coaching duties added to his role as general manager after last year's dismal 23-win season and the firing of coach Larry Brown, have made it a priority to get the ball down low to the wide-bodied Curry and this development has paid dividends.
New York acquired Curry two years ago after Chicago insisted that he take a DNA test to determine if he was at risk of a serious heart problem after he had missed the last 13 games of the season and the play-offs with an irregular heartbeat.
Curry, who averaged 16.1 points in his last season with Chicago after being drafted out of an Illinois high school, refused the test and found himself traded.
"Coach (Thomas) says anybody in this league, if they can get two feet in the paint, should be able to score. With my body, and a pretty nice touch around the basket, if I can get in the paint I'm going to score," Curry said.
Curry said he admired Shaq, who turns 35 on Tuesday, which made his showdown performance against him and Mourning all the more gratifying.
"Those are two of the best centres to do it. Even at this point of their careers they can still dominate a game, and I was able to match them," he said.
"Every night I'm pretty much the focal point of the attack. With those guys (Shaq and Mourning), I knew I wasn't going to see that many double teams, so you get a chance to see what you can do."
Curry said he was improving all the time, yet he knew he had a long way to go in any comparison with O'Neal.
"A guy like Shaq, you'll probably never see anybody better. I just have to do as good as I can.
"As long as he's wearing a uniform, (Shaq) will be the most dominating player in the game."Reuters
"I thought Eddy took a giant step tonight," Thomas told reporters after the 24-year-old Curry outplayed O'Neal in New York's 99-93 win over Miami on Monday at Madison Square Garden in a battle of teams fighting for a berth in the play-offs.
"You want to be recognised as one of the better big men in the league and you want the respect from the Godfather, and the Godfather in the league is Shaq.
"It'd be nice if the Godfather anointed him also," added Thomas.
"Not yet," O'Neal said when asked if Curry deserved mention among the NBA's elite centres. "You've got to win first."
O'Neal was talking about titles, not regular season games. The Diesel has four of them on his resume, one last year with the Heat and three in a row from 2000 with the Lakers, taking the NBA Finals MVP honours each time for Los Angeles.
Curry, meanwhile, is winning over Knicks fans with his rapid progress as a low post scorer, justifying the trade that brought him to New York two years ago from the Chicago Bulls.
The 2.11 metres, 129.3 kilogrammes Curry, averaging 19.6 points and 7.1 rebounds this season, poured in 28 points and hauled down 11 boards in his showdown against O'Neal and back-up centre Alonzo Mourning.
"It was a lot of fun," Curry said about going against the Heat's daunting duo. "I like challenges and that was definitely a challenge. I think I did pretty well."
O'Neal had 20 points but only three rebounds. Mourning, an All-Star during his prime, had 12 points and six rebounds.
Curry took charge in the third quarter, scoring 15 of New York's first 16 points and helping the Knicks to outscore Miami in the paint 44-32.
"He's a good player, an aggressive player," said the 2.16m O'Neal, who fell into foul trouble trying to stop Curry's aggressive moves to the hoop.
Miami coach Pat Riley, who coached high-scoring centre Kareem Abdul-Jabbar during a run of championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and had Patrick Ewing at centre during his tenure with the Knicks, knows all about top-flight centres.
"Curry has made big strides," Riley said before the game. "He's number one in points in the paint in the NBA. He's a load down there and he has some athleticism for a man his size. He's definitely turned the corner."
The Knicks under Thomas, who had coaching duties added to his role as general manager after last year's dismal 23-win season and the firing of coach Larry Brown, have made it a priority to get the ball down low to the wide-bodied Curry and this development has paid dividends.
New York acquired Curry two years ago after Chicago insisted that he take a DNA test to determine if he was at risk of a serious heart problem after he had missed the last 13 games of the season and the play-offs with an irregular heartbeat.
Curry, who averaged 16.1 points in his last season with Chicago after being drafted out of an Illinois high school, refused the test and found himself traded.
"Coach (Thomas) says anybody in this league, if they can get two feet in the paint, should be able to score. With my body, and a pretty nice touch around the basket, if I can get in the paint I'm going to score," Curry said.
Curry said he admired Shaq, who turns 35 on Tuesday, which made his showdown performance against him and Mourning all the more gratifying.
"Those are two of the best centres to do it. Even at this point of their careers they can still dominate a game, and I was able to match them," he said.
"Every night I'm pretty much the focal point of the attack. With those guys (Shaq and Mourning), I knew I wasn't going to see that many double teams, so you get a chance to see what you can do."
Curry said he was improving all the time, yet he knew he had a long way to go in any comparison with O'Neal.
"A guy like Shaq, you'll probably never see anybody better. I just have to do as good as I can.
"As long as he's wearing a uniform, (Shaq) will be the most dominating player in the game."Reuters
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