Curry the Center of Attention

The Bulls round out their frontline this year with Eddy Curry (6-11, 285 – Thornwood HS ’01) and Corie Blount (6-10, 242 – Cincinnati ’93). Curry, who led the NBA in field goal percentage last season at the age of 20, demonstrated that he can be a virtually unstoppable scorer at times.

“We began to find out a little bit about what Eddy can do on the floor last year,” said Bulls Head Coach Bill Cartwright. “Everybody knows he’s an offensive player. When you know somebody certain strengths, you identify them and then you start to focus on the weaknesses. Eddy is obviously going to have to focus on how to guard somebody and how to stay out of foul trouble.”

Cartwright views the offensive minded Curry as the opposite of the defensive minded Tyson Chandler, thus creating an “interesting balance.” However, he makes it clear that the Bulls will key on Curry’s ability to put the ball into the basket.

“I equate his ability to score to hitting a baseball,” Cartwright explained. “Some guys like Frank Thomas or Barry Bonds can hit a baseball and hit it a long way. Well, Eddy can score; he can really score. So we’ll take advantage of that, along with building his defensive knowledge and his ability to guard and recognize different situations. We’re really excited about what we saw last year and we like the direction that he’s headed in.”

Curry, who appeared in 81 games and started 48 times, was the only player in the NBA last year to average 10+ ppg (10.5 ppg) and less than 20.0 mpg (19.4 mpg); he also averaged 4.4 rpg and shot an NBA-best 58.5 percent from the floor. He became the first Bull to lead the NBA in a major statistical category since Michael Jordan in 1998 (scoring) and the first Bull to lead the NBA in field goal percentage since Artis Gilmore in 1981.82.

“Eddy had a great summer,” Cartwright said. “He did a good job and he’s been working on his body to keep it at a strict level, too. Offensively, we want to work on getting him a left hand [shot]. But we really want to get him to have a defensive awareness so that if anything comes into that lane, it will belong to him. He and Tyson are going to be 21 years old this year and we know their best days are ahead of them. We just want them to start now.”

If the second half of the season was any indicator, the future is now for Curry. After the All-Star break, he appeared in 33 games, with 28 starts and shot .621 from the floor, while averaging 16.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg and 1.12 bpg. He started the final 25 games of the year and scored in double figures the last 13 games. During that stretch, he posted career highs of 31 points and 15 rebounds.

Blount

“Corie’s solid,” Cartwright said of his veteran center. “He’s just a solid guy. I think that’s the best word for him. He’s been around a long time and he’s a pro. Surprisingly enough, he’s got the ability to make a little bit of a jump shot. We were very pleased with Corie last year, especially how he finished the season.”

Cartwright was also delighted that Blount worked with the team’s younger players to show them the ropes as they continue to learn.

“I thought he did a nice job in talking with Eddy and Tyson, which is what these veteran guys have to do, especially with Kendall and Scottie, Jalen and Donyell,” he said. “They are all able to talk to these young guys and communicate with them and that is very, very important. Corie did a great job in that area so we’re looking forward to having him back.”

The Bulls are relying on Curry to have a big year and an even bigger career. While his impact was minor in November, in March he outplayed Shaquille O’Neal and led the Bulls to victory on one evening. In April, he showed that he can be truly dominant. Will Curry be able to play at the level he displayed in last year’s second half for a full 82-game season? Cartwright believes both he and Chandler will.

“I expect Tyson and Eddy to be more consistent and the reason they will be is because physically they are stronger,” he said. “There is always a certain anticipation about the season that when you’re young, you don’t know about. I equate it to a marathon. You don’t know what it’s like until you’re in it. Once you are, you start to understand what it takes. You’ve got to be persistent and you’ve got to be focused.”

“Now that Eddy and Tyson have gone though a couple of years, they know what it is like,” continued Cartwright. “They know that a lot of times they have to go home and get some rest. They know they can’t eat at McDonald’s every meal. They know how to prepare for games and they now have a sense for the other players in this league. They understand their strengths and weaknesses and know what they can do against them. It’s an acclimation to the league that they’ve gone though and this year, we’re hopeful that they can put it all together.”

- Adam Fluck, Bulls.com