While True Hoop’s Henry Abbott could barely believe his eyes at the Knicks’ Zach Randolph actually breaking a sweat during last night’s preseason loss to the Celtics (“he was moving his feet on defense, and giving up the ball on offense, in ways that I have simply never seen before”), another scribe has us wondering if Eddy Current Suppression Ring has finally eaten himself out of the organization’s good graces. The former Bulls center “was once described as a cornerstone piece of the franchise, is now just an expensive 7-foot ornament” writes the NY Daily News’ Frank Isola.
“He’s going to have to play better than what he has shown me,” Mike D’Antoni said after Curry did not play in Boston’s 101-90 victory at the Garden. “He is going to have to pick it up. He has got to pick up his training.”
D’Antoni is using a short rotation, and even with Jared Jeffries sidelined for at least another month with a broken leg, Curry can’t crack the rotation. D’Antoni is even using Malik Rose ahead of Curry.
“Obviously, he missed a couple of weeks early and that set him back,” he added, referring to Curry sitting out the first week of training camp with a bacterial infection. “There is plenty of time for him to work and get back into the rotation but he has to make a heck of an effort. I think he knows that and hopefully, he will do that.”
Curry arrived for the start of the season in poor shape and does not seem to have the mental make-up to be a factor in D’Antoni’s system. Curry slipped out of the Garden Tuesday night without talking to reporters.