Eddy Curry Scores 29 Points, Loses In CBA Debut

Remember what I said about Eddy Curry on Monday?  Yeah, well, scratch that.  E-City recently elected to put his NBA hopes on hold for the time being and to follow T-Mac (and the money) to the Far East, where he has joined the Zhejiang Golden Bulls of the Chinese Basketball Association.  Zhejiang is the former team of JR Smith, as well as Josh Boone, who Curry has been brought in to replace.  The combination of Smith and Boone failed to lead the Golden Bulls to the postseason during the NBA lockout, and the team hopes to experience better luck with their new pairing of Curry and Quincy Douby, a former Sacramento King.

Curry arrived in China just a day or two ago, but he was in the starting lineup for Zhejiang as they got set to face off with Fujian.  Wearing his old #2 from the Chicago years, Curry scored the game’s first basket and six of his team’s first eight points, but in the end it was the same old song.  Physically, Curry looked like a man amongst boys when he caught the ball on the low block.  He carved out space with the greatest of ease, and the touch that made him a 20-point scorer in the ’05/06 NBA season was very apparent.  However, Curry proved to be one dimensional as ever as Fujian racked up points in the paint and in transition.  He was often slow getting up and down the court, poor on the defensive glass, and most disappointingly, unable to make himself any sort of defensive presence presence despite his great size.  Curry often stood and watched as Fujian players finished at the rim, and the two shots that I saw him block were both recovered by the shooter and effortlessly plopped into the hoop.

Zhejiang ultimately falls to 2-3 with a 110-117 loss.  The final score makes it out to be closer than it was — Zhejiang trailed by 20 in the second half and never led beyond the first quarter.  The 117 points they allowed are season high for a non-overtime contest.

Some of Curry’s finer moments:

CBA Notes: Yi Jianlian scored 41 points for the Guangdong Southern Tigers.  Tracy McGrady & DJ Mbenga (Qingdao) are 0-6 with another loss today.