Curry’s Health Was Always A Worry

(20th January, 2010)

There was a time, not too long ago, when the Knicks’ Eddy Curry was ‘da man’.  Really.  He was a force in the low post and, because he attracted double and triple-teams by the opposition, David Lee became unleashed to do his thing.

During Curry’s string of eleven consecutive 20+ point games during the 2006-07 season, then-coach and general manager Isiah Thomas proclaimed -in his own unique way- “I’m not a drug addict, but Eddy is my No. 1 drug.”  The media knew what Thomas meant; it was just his choice of words that were amusing.

Curry started 81 games that season, averaging 19.5 points and seven boards.  The rebound total was particularly surprising because his feet barely left the hardwood.  There was considerable talk of being selected for the All-Star team.  But, alas, he was overlooked.  The gentle giant -who is listed at 6’11” and 295 pounds- was crushed.

During the break, he had his chest tattooed with the words, ‘Bruised Never Broken’, as a reminder of being snubbed.

In October 2005, Thomas had acquired Curry [and Antonio Davis] from Chicago in exchange for Tim Thomas, Michael Sweetney, two future second-round draft picks, a 2006 conditional first-round draft pick and the right to switch future first-round draft picks.  At the time, Isiah took considerable heat for making such a deal, largely because his new center had a pre-existing heart condition.

Curry, once the fourth overall pick of the 2001 Draft, had weight issues throughout most of his adult life [like Sweetney].  Subsequently, those issues contributed to knee problems, the latest will result in arthroscopic debridement to remove loose cartilage in his knee.  He will be permitted to rehab within a week, and is expected to be out of action until mid-March.

In the NBA, Isiah once said, almost everything takes four to six weeks.

At that point, the Knicks will have approximately 20 games remaining.  But, as coach Mike D’Antoni’s rotation is never etched in stone, Curry is likely to be on the outside looking in when he does return.

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