Knicks Notebook - 12/29/08

Curry Ready to Fill Go-To Role

The Knicks need a go-guy in the closing minutes of close games and their answer could be in the form of 6-foot-11 center Eddy Curry, who is close to returning from a bruised right knee.

“We’re lacking those couple baskets on the inside and I want to be that guy who helps us get over this slump and start winning some games,” Curry said after practice on Monday.

Curry still feels pain in his knee but he’s pushing himself to get back on the court as soon as possible. However, don’t expect him to be ready for game action for at least another two weeks.

“I’m focusing on getting back to practicing and doing stuff at 100 percent,” he said. “I’ll leave the rest up to the coach once I get back.”

Curry had missed most of training camp because of a bacterial infection before injuring his knee later in the preseason. No structural damage was found in his knee and he is done receiving injections.

Karl Impressed with Knicks

The Knicks have been in somewhat of a slump recently, but Nuggets Head Coach George Karl is still impressed with what he has seen from the new-look team this season.

“I think they’re better than I thought they were going to play,” he said prior to Sunday’s matchup at The Garden. “I thought they’d have more growing pains and have more difficult performances.”

The Nuggets have been among the league leaders in scoring ever since Karl took over midway through the 2004-05 season and the Knicks appear to be following in their footsteps under Head Coach Mike D’Antoni’s direction.

New York currently ranks third in the league with 104.7 points per game in D’Antoni’s first season with the Knicks, while Denver sits in the fifth spot with an average of 102.7 points.

“There’s no question that D’Antoni is on top of the mountain on playing how he plays,” said Karl. “He’s committed to it, he believes in it.”

Knicks Knotes

-A reporter asked Coach D’Antoni how the Knicks’ current six-game losing streak compares to his former Suns team losing to the Spurs in the 2005 and 2007 Western Conference Finals “When you lose to the Spurs in the playoffs, you lose part of your heart” said D’Antoni. “That stuff never leaves you. Once we start winning, you’re not going to remember this little stuff.”

-Nate Robinson and Allan Houston had a left-handed 3-point shooting contest after practice on Monday with Nate hitting seven of 10 to walk away with the win. It was pretty incredible to see both right-handed shooters light it up from downtown lefty with perfect form.

-Tim Thomas sprained his right big toe on Sunday, but D’Antoni said he’ll be ready to go Tuesday night in Charlotte. Thomas recorded nine points and six rebounds against the Nuggets in his first start as a Knick this season.