[mizenkay]

and it appears the feeling is mutual.



http://www.suntimes.com/output/slezak/cst-spt-carol13.html#

Do the Bulls miss Eddy Curry? They don't miss the drama, that's for sure. Last November, the Bulls were winless, Curry's mom was taking shots at the organization, and Curry's agents were demanding a trade.

"Oh, that was his mom,'' Bulls coach Scott Skiles said with a chuckle Saturday. "His mom asked for a trade.''

His agents, his mom, whoever. It was always something with Curry. And it's great that Skiles can laugh about it now, but no one was laughing about it then. Curry ended up apologizing for the trade demand and went on to enjoy several productive months until the drama involving his heart condition began to unfold in March. Once again, no one was laughing, least of all operations head John Paxson, who finally ended a medical standoff between Curry and the Bulls by trading the 7-foot center in October.

But what a difference a year has made for the Bulls. After beating the Utah Jazz 103-98 at the United Center on Saturday, the Bulls are 3-2. Sure beats being winless, especially with the annual West Coast road trip beginning Monday at Golden Sate.

"We wanted to have a winning record going out West, so now we do,'' Skiles said.

I assume that Brown also has discovered that Curry, who still is playing his way into shape, is no savior. This, of course, is something the Bulls realized a while ago.

Is it possible the Bulls simply do not miss Curry at all? Granted, his absence has left a big hole to fill in the middle. But Michael Sweetney, the 6-8, 270-pound power forward obtained from the Knicks as part of the Curry deal, is a wide-body himself. And Sweetney has been playing well down low.

"[Sweetney] was in the same draft class as me, so I knew he could play,'' Kirk Hinrich said. "I don't know if he got the opportunity he needed in New York, but he definitely is going to get that here. He's one guy who can score for us down in the block, and to be a good team we need him in the game scoring for us and rebounding.''

Last season, the first play of the game was drawn up for Curry, who seemed to always get off to a fast start. The Bulls have been prone to slow starts this year, prompting Hinrich to wonder aloud if they might not miss Curry's first-quarter play.

But Skiles was hesitant to give Curry that credit.

"What you'd have to do is you'd have to break it down,'' Skiles said. "You'd have to go game by game and see what Eddy [actually] did provide in the first quarter before you jump to that conclusion. I think more than anything else, that just becomes an excuse.''

If Skiles seems almost relieved to be rid of Curry, realize that Curry seems to feel that way about the entire Bulls organization. In an interview with InsideHoops.com, Curry sounded happy to have severed his relationship with the Bulls.

"... I don't really miss that situation,'' Curry said. "I look at that as a stepping stone for me getting to where I need to be.''

Curry said he misses his former teammates, "but other than that, nothing.'' And he had special words for his new coach, calling Brown "great'' and adding, "He's very demanding, but I definitely expected that coming in.''

 

[yodurk]

The fact that both sides seem happy would signify that it was a good trade. Personally, I'm becoming more happy with it as the days go on. Sweetney doesn't make me pull my hair out as much as Curry did, and the Bulls as a team are meeting my expectations thus far. And I love draft time, so the fact that we have 2 first-rounders makes me do a jig every time I think about it.

 

[theanimal23]

Yeah I'm over the trade now. The reason why I kept regretting it, was I always wished that IF Tyson and Eddy EVER fulfilled their potential, it would be in a Bulls Uni.

But no one can complain about a 4-2 record. I just hope we improve some more. The one thing I'm do not like about our wins, is that they are always very close. We could potentially be 6-0, or 0-6.

 

[lougehrig]

Last season, the first play of the game was drawn up for Curry, who seemed to always get off to a fast start. The Bulls have been prone to slow starts this year, prompting Hinrich to wonder aloud if they might not miss Curry's first-quarter play.

But Skiles was hesitant to give Curry that credit.

"What you'd have to do is you'd have to break it down,'' Skiles said. "You'd have to go game by game and see what Eddy [actually] did provide in the first quarter before you jump to that conclusion. I think more than anything else, that just becomes an excuse.''

Exactly. Alot of people (around the NBA) vastly overrate Curry's influence. If you force feed a player in the first 6 minutes of the game, that player is going to have decent numbers. We don't force feed anybody now and play an all around game. BTW our scoring is up this year.

 

[kukoc4ever]

Our team looks OK so far.

Our top 4 FGA guys right now are Hinrich, Gordon, Duhon and Deng.

Not much inside presence on the offensive end.

Sweets is a nice player, but is he a 30 minute a night guy? Skiles does not think so as of now, judging by minutes played.

One thing Curry seems to have done in NYC is step up his rebounding.

His per 40 rebounding is 11.0 right now.

Comparing him to the Bulls....


Sweets: 13.2
Chandler: 12.4
Songalia: 7.7
Nocioni: 5.9
Othella: 3.9

How on Earth can Chandler and Curry be averaging the same number of blocks per game so far?

Curry's TOs in NYC have been a joke.

If we really can get a high lotto pick from the Knicks, it will be an OK trade, given the circumstances.


EDIT:

What is the difference between "Force-Feeding" a player and making sure to get the ball to a big man in the post?? Curry was efficient for us last year.

 

[mizenkay]

Yeah I'm over the trade now. The reason why I kept regretting it, was I always wished that IF Tyson and Eddy EVER fulfilled their potential, it would be in a Bulls Uni.

But no one can complain about a 4-2 record. I just hope we improve some more. The one thing I'm do not like about our wins, is that they are always very close. We could potentially be 6-0, or 0-6.

especially since we're 3-2 :smilewink

 

[TRUTHHURTS]

What the ?

Its 4 games into the season why would we want to jinx ourselves by buying into this crap so early in the season. Our guards have played great against the WEST .But when we start to playing the East with all the elite guards we will need an inside presence.Its much too early to be declaring anything so soon .

 

[Ron Cey]

What the ?

Its 4 games into the season why would we want to jinx ourselves by buying into this crap so early in the season. Our guards have played great against the WEST .But when we start to playing the East with all the elite guards we will need an inside presence.Its much too early to be declaring anything so soon .

I think the article was written with a "so far so good" premise. I don't think anyone is naive enough to declare final success after 5 games. I stand by my statement that unless Eddy goes down with a heart issue or Sweetney alone becomes by far and away better than Curry, this trade will not be capable of judgment for 2 years.

 

[yodurk]

One thing Curry seems to have done in NYC is step up his rebounding.

His per 40 rebounding is 11.0 right now.

Comparing him to the Bulls....


Sweets: 13.2
Chandler: 12.4
Songalia: 7.7
Nocioni: 5.9
Othella: 3.9

I've said this for at least a month now...if ever there were a chance for Eddy Curry to bust out in the rebounding category, this is his chance. Two things to consider. First and foremost, the Knicks have been horribly efficient from the field, leaving alot of misses to snare up, and surprisingly, they've forced opponents into ugly shooting as well. They are truly playing Larry Brown's style of basketball in this regard. Secondly, there really aren't any great rebounders on the Knicks (yet again, they're surprisingly out-rebounding opponents...mind-boggling), leaving Curry to snatch up rebounds himself.

The Knicks are truly an enigma, I must say. A team full of "scorers" with virtually no established "defenders" on the team, and yet they're not scoring, but rather defending.

 

[kukoc4ever]

I've said this for at least a month now...if ever there were a chance for Eddy Curry to bust out in the rebounding category, this is his chance.

I guess the question to ask now is....

Was Curry's low rebounding total last year more to do with playing with AD and Chandler, and there not being as many rebounds available or is he "jumping" more this season with the Knicks?

If Curry can keep rebounding at this rate and getting to the like he has been with the Knicks, and cut down his TOs by 1 a game, he's going to have a nice season statistically. He’s currently #3 in scoring and #8 in rebounds per game for centers, with fewer minutes than nearly any other center in the overall NBA leaders.


Does Curry have a chance to be an all-star center in the east this season? If the Knicks can string together a streak and Curry keeps up his play, he very well may. That would be mind-blowing.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/stats/b...alified=1&conference=Eastern&year=season_2005

 

[fleetwood macbull]

I guess the question to ask now is....

Was Curry's low rebounding total last year more to do with playing with AD and Chandler, and there not being as many rebounds available or is he "jumping" more this season with the Knicks?

If Curry can keep rebounding at this rate and getting to the like he has been with the Knicks, and cut down his TOs by 1 a game, he's going to have a nice season statistically. He’s currently #3 in scoring and #8 in rebounds per game for centers, with fewer minutes than nearly any other center in the overall NBA leaders.


Does Curry have a chance to be an all-star center in the east this season? If the Knicks can string together a streak and Curry keeps up his play, he very well may. That would be mind-blowing.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/stats/b...alified=1&conference=Eastern&year=season_2005

could happen if he keeps it up and LB plays him thru the fouls and TOs

the increase in rebounding is so interesting. Almost as if he was sandbagging with the Bulls so he could be with his life partner in NY..........Nah

 

[yodurk]

I guess the question to ask now is....

Was Curry's low rebounding total last year more to do with playing with AD and Chandler, and there not being as many rebounds available or is he "jumping" more this season with the Knicks?

If Curry can keep rebounding at this rate and getting to the like he has been with the Knicks, and cut down his TOs by 1 a game, he's going to have a nice season statistically. He’s currently #3 in scoring and #8 in rebounds per game for centers, with fewer minutes than nearly any other center in the overall NBA leaders.


Does Curry have a chance to be an all-star center in the east this season? If the Knicks can string together a streak and Curry keeps up his play, he very well may. That would be mind-blowing.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/stats/b...alified=1&conference=Eastern&year=season_2005

Hard to say for certain. I haven't seen the Knicks enough so far (I probably won't see them much all season). But my reasoning for making this prediction was that there will be alot of missed shots to snare up (exactly 1/3 of Eddy's rebounds are offensive, so far), and to a lesser degree, not as many guys to "steal" rebounds on the Knicks. It's possible Larry Brown's defensive schemes put Eddy in better rebound position as well. Or maybe due to the small sample size, the opponents just haven't kept Eddy off the boards as well as future opponents will. This isn't to say Eddy hasn't improved on the boards; I think he has over the past few years. But I have a hard time seeing him ever average double-digit boards even with big minutes. The art of rebounding has never come naturally to him.

And to answer your question, Eddy will always have a "chance" to be an all-star just because there aren't many centers around who will put up numbers. But I think Tyson Chandler, now that he's a center, has a pretty good chance too (although those ballots are so ridiculous, they probably still have him as a forward).

I'm less concerned about how Eddy's numbers rank compared to other centers, as I am with his comparison to other big men in general. I figure as long as a team has some sort of inside presence, that's all that really matters, whether he's a "center" or a "power forward".

 

[Da Grinch]

I've said this for at least a month now...if ever there were a chance for Eddy Curry to bust out in the rebounding category, this is his chance. Two things to consider. First and foremost, the Knicks have been horribly efficient from the field, leaving alot of misses to snare up, and surprisingly, they've forced opponents into ugly shooting as well. They are truly playing Larry Brown's style of basketball in this regard. Secondly, there really aren't any great rebounders on the Knicks (yet again, they're surprisingly out-rebounding opponents...mind-boggling), leaving Curry to snatch up rebounds himself.

The Knicks are truly an enigma, I must say. A team full of "scorers" with virtually no established "defenders" on the team, and yet they're not scoring, but rather defending.

rebounding was my big worry about the knicks(still is btw), i thought with the trade of their best 2 rebounders (sweetney and kurt thomas, while cutting another in jyd)and getting 2-3 sub par rebounders in return (curry , james and frye), especially from what was a mediocre rebounding team they have been rebounding intelligently , their big guys basically box out letting their smaller guys swoop in and get boards (Q, ariza and barnes) everyone is doing their part.

scoring isn't a worry to me , they are to me experiencing a changing of the guard, somewhat with JC being groomed to play pg and steph at the 2 , there is confusion, but ultimately i think they are better off if steph can adjust , i have no doubts that JC will play better and more consistently as a pg, in the last game they went to crawford down the stretch even though marbury was their leading scorer.

but teams can lose hope if they dont win , i dont think it will happen but there is always that possibility, if they lose that they will probably lose their defense and rebounding with it , because much of that hinges on desire.

 

[Da Grinch]

I guess the question to ask now is....

Was Curry's low rebounding total last year more to do with playing with AD and Chandler, and there not being as many rebounds available or is he "jumping" more this season with the Knicks?

If Curry can keep rebounding at this rate and getting to the like he has been with the Knicks, and cut down his TOs by 1 a game, he's going to have a nice season statistically. He’s currently #3 in scoring and #8 in rebounds per game for centers, with fewer minutes than nearly any other center in the overall NBA leaders.


Does Curry have a chance to be an all-star center in the east this season? If the Knicks can string together a streak and Curry keeps up his play, he very well may. That would be mind-blowing.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/stats/b...alified=1&conference=Eastern&year=season_2005

i would say wallace big z shaq and magliore are better bets for the all star team than curry ...with dalembert and chandler on equal standing with curry.

 

[lougehrig]

What is the difference between "Force-Feeding" a player and making sure to get the ball to a big man in the post?? Curry was efficient for us last year.

All I'm saying his Curry's efficiency and effectiveness are vastly overrated. He is a very inefficient player per number of touches. All I'm saying he gets a higher rate of touches because people assume he is efficient. Skiles realizes the truth. His effectiveness is overrated.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/82games/11/04/knicks/index.html - check out this article if you think otherwise.


His rebounding has improved statiscally. The Knicks have absolutely no one to rebound not to mention they are shooting poorly so there are alot of offensive boards available. He is 32nd in the league in rebounds per 48 minutes at 13.3 (not bad).

On the other hand, Sweetney is 7th in the league at 15.8 rebounds per 48 and Chandler is 13th in the league at 14.9 rebounds per 48.

 

[mizenkay]

What the ?

Its 4 games into the season why would we want to jinx ourselves by buying into this crap so early in the season. Our guards have played great against the WEST .But when we start to playing the East with all the elite guards we will need an inside presence.Its much too early to be declaring anything so soon .

why is it a "jinx" if the bulls are simply moving on without eddy?

that's the jist of the story. either that or carol just plain misses the big lug and needed something to write. deadlines you know. can't leave well enough alone.

i mean for eddy we now know that his time spent with the bulls was just a stepping stone.

skyscrapers and everything.

 

[Darius Miles Davis]

i would say wallace big z shaq and magliore are better bets for the all star team than curry ...with dalembert and chandler on equal standing with curry.

No way Chandler's on equal standing with Curry right now. I'm sure the league likes big scorers in the game, with the exception of Ben Wallace, who I think won defensive player of the year before he made the all star team.

 

[theanimal23]

especially since we're 3-2 :smilewink

My Bad Miz. I've been so out of it so far the past week and half. Too much school work = less time for Bulls. I'll be on my game this week hopefully. Haha.

 

[Da Grinch]

No way Chandler's on equal standing with Curry right now. I'm sure the league likes big scorers in the game, with the exception of Ben Wallace, who I think won defensive player of the year before he made the all star team.

what the league likes doen't matter , the shaq will get the fans vote , so coaches will choose the rest...past wallace, magliore and big z, i am thinking the coaches of the league can be swayed on who is playing better rather than who is scoring the most.

 

[lougehrig]

No way Chandler's on equal standing with Curry right now. I'm sure the league likes big scorers in the game, with the exception of Ben Wallace, who I think won defensive player of the year before he made the all star team.

I agree. Chandler is far ahead of Curry. I mean Eddy doesn't even play when his team is down by 5 points in the 4th quarter (1st GSW game). Curry gets his points and rebounds in the first half of the first quarter (I have seen every Knick game this year). Then he tires / gets into foul trouble, returns for 2-3 minutes in the 2nd quarter. Then he starts the 3rd quarter and whether or not he plays after this is anyone's guess. He has contributed very little to the Knicks overall team play, IMO.

His stats sort of remind me of when Marcus Fizer used to average 12 points per game for us. You would never even guess Marcus played in any game because that contribution was largely invisible. Extreme example, but that's what I feel after watching a game with Curry in it.