Even I had all but completely forgotten about Eddy Curry. While most would be a little ashamed to admit that he was once a favorite player of theirs, I’m just a little ashamed that it took an accidental sighting on Tuesday night to remind me that the guy is still in the league.
After watching Curry score 6 points in his Heat debut on January 19th, I’d often take a glance at the bottom of Miami’s box scores. Sometimes I’d even keep them in mind while watching other teams. I remember wondering where Curry was during the late stages of a blowout on the 21st, and flipping over from another game upon noticing that he’d checked in on the 22nd.
I know what you’re thinking. Derrick Rose, Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki… they’re all in action. What the f@ck am I doing focusing on Eddy Curry? Why, of all people, Eddy Curry?
It’s pretty simple, really. Head on up the ladder into the loft I used to sleep in as a teenager. Look to your left. You will, to this day, see at least two pictures of Eddy Curry tacked to the wall. Kobe? Only if he happens to be lurking in the background of the Smush Parker photo.
To see Eddy Curry on an NBA basketball floor… it simply helps me fend off feelings of nostalgia. I’m at that point where I’m still adjusting to being older than a fair portion of the league. I can no longer simultaneously idolize NBA basketball players and respect myself (feels bad, man). While I still love the game, I’m not lost in that youthful state of entrancement… and as stupid as it may seem, one of the few players left who can take me back to those days is Eddy Curry. What can I say? I didn’t give a sh!t that the Knicks sucked in ’05. I still don’t. I thought EC’s post moves were the bomb, and I loved the rest of the roster as well. I played a season with the Knicks on NBA Live ’06, and I asked for team gear for Christmas. I stayed up late to watch them beat the Lakers, and I was sure to be up by noon when they played on Sundays. You couldn’t tell me sh!t about Isiah’s Knicks. I mean, deep down I’m sure I knew it could never work, but I pretended it was going to anyway. That’s the type of sh!t that flies when you’re a stupid ass kid who watches the NBA strictly out of blind love for the game. It was a beautiful thing, and I’ll never forget those days as long as I live.
Okay, back to real life, where it’s a Sunday in 2012. The Lakers have beaten the Heat, and Curry’s absence from the game–a game during which Juwan Howard saw a season high of nine minutes and LeBron James was forced to gaurd Pau Gasol–never crossed my mind. It wasn’t until later that I noticed the DNPCD. Now I’m wondering… if Eddy isn’t gonna play against one of the league’s biggest, slowest frontcourts in a game where Chris Bosh is inactive, when is he ever going to see the floor?
Unfortunately, I think the time and score answer that question.
It certainly appears that the Eddy Curry experiment will in fact fail to produce a Leon Powe moment. It may even fail to produce a 10-minute stint. If Curry really is working hard–as you heard Miami’s commentators say he is–then Erik Spoelstra does not get my vote for Coach of the Year.
Disclaimer: I don’t have a vote, and Erik Spoelstra wouldn’t get it anyway.
