Curry Goat The comparisons between Eddy Curry and Dwight Howard begin & end with their height. At 6-11, both are imposing figures in the paint. Howard - with his action figure frame and freakish athleticism - has become the most dominant center in the Eastern Conference. Under the direction of Orlando Magic assistant coach Patrick Ewing, Howard's statistics are an eye-popping 23.1ppg, 14.9rpg & 2.7bpg.Curry on the other hand (13.0ppg, 5.0rbg & 0.5bpg) has been mired in a season-long slump which has helped send the Knicks season into a tailspin.

One year ago, Eddy Curry was the focal point of the offense and under consideration for an All-Star berth. Stephon Marbury dubbed him "E-City" and Curry would go on to post career highs in scoring (19.5) and rebounding ( 7.0) and begin to live up to the high price Isiah Thomas spent to bring him to Madison Square Garden. In addition to surrendering two consecutive lottery picks to the Chicago Bulls, Thomas invested $56MM in the center with the hope he would become the cornerstone of the franchise. Despite concerns of a heart condition, Thomas saw Curry as the final piece to rebuilding the Knicks into a contender. Unfortunately, those lofty expectations have been met with marginal results.

Much has been made of Eddy Curry's regression this season, but the blame lays squarely on the shoulders of Isiah Thomas. Thomas has routinely brought in players with duplicate skill sets hoping the players would compliment each other. The trade for Zach Randolph on draft night was seen as a major win for a team starving for consistent production from the power forward slot. Much to the dismay of Curry, Thomas acquired a high scoring PF with little interest in defending. If Curry was to become what Patrick Ewing was, he needed a Charles Oakley-type at his side, not a Charles Smith clone. Randolph, like Smith, is a gifted scorer & rebounder, but turnover prone and far from a defensive stopper.

Pairing Randolph & Curry has had a negative impact on both players. Statistically, both big men have seen a decline in their scoring and rebounding averages following stellar campaigns last season. Curry, unlike Randolph, is a one dimensional player who only provides low-post scoring. Randolph's perimeter game and ability to rack up double-doubles nightly make him a far more effective post-up option than the lumbering center. While Curry has the tools to become a dominant player, he lacks the drive necessary to elevate his game. A prime case in point is his ability to soar for alley-oop passes from Jamal Crawford, yet the same vertical leaping ability is rarely used to block shots or rebound in traffic. Furthermore, Curry's poor court awareness is also the main reason why the Knicks rarely run pick & roll plays in their offensive sets.

In each of the last 4 years, Isiah Thomas has found a scapegoat to pin the team's woes on. First it was Scott Layden, followed by Lenny Wilkins, then Larry Brown, then Steve Francis. After a rift with Marbury to start the season, Thomas now points the finger at his prized big man for whom he overpaid & under-coached. Thomas could have easily given Curry a mandated weight & conditioning goal (much like Pat Riley gave Shaquille O'Neal) and brought in a coach like Ewing to develop other facets of Curry's game. Before Ewing molded Dwight Howard into a MVP candidate, he helped turn Yao Ming the premier center in the Western Conference. Ewing could have taught Curry how to handle the pressure of playing in New York and the importance of blocking shots.

Isiah Thomas knew bringing in Zach Randolph would radically change the Knicks gameplan and destroy any budding chemistry from last season. Without an elite, pass first point guard to orchestrate the offense, the Twin Towers experiment was doomed to fail. Curry appears to be the natural scapegoat for this season given his passive demeanor, but Thomas' inability to build a balanced roster is at fault for this season's results.

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Knicks assistant coach, Mark Aguirre is given credit for working with Eddy Curry on his footwork and post moves, but Curry has yet to extend his offensive game past 10 feet. Aguirre, who teamed with Isiah Thomas on the Pistons, is a former All-Star small forward who would be better served refining the offensive talents of Renaldo Balkman. Balkman has been relegated to the bench as Thomas finds more minutes for Indiana University alum, Jared Jeffries.

Balkman is a superior on-ball and help defender than Jeffries and makes the most of his offensive touches. Balkman routinely ignited MSG last season with hustle, defense & high flying dunks. Thomas now appears bent on allocating more minutes to his Chicago/Indiana-area players (Richardson, Jeffries, Curry, Randolph) despite their poor defensive efforts, leaving the Staten Island, NY product in his warmups.

-Greg Hutchins