Eddy Curry Talks Like a Starter

Stephon Marbury wasn't the only one making lineup predictions this week at Knicks camp.

As reported by the New York Post's Marc Berman:

 Curry said he may not be ready to play in the Knicks' preaseason opener tomorrow night, but he expects to be the starting center once the games count.

"Until told otherwise, yeah, I do," said Curry, who was left winded and worn out yesterday. "I'm not out here playing to come off the bench. I'm planning to start.

"But if that's where [Mike D'Antoni] sees me playing, that's what happens. But as of now, I'm not playing to come off the bench."

Good to have confidence.  Good to be willing to accept what comes.  But a reality check might indicate to Curry that he'll likely be accepting a role he doesn't want.

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Curry missed the first week of practice with a bacterial infection, and the guy isn't exactly known for his impeccable conditioning in the first place.  Until he makes some drastic changes in his physique, it's going to be very hard for Curry to fit in D'Antoni's run-run-run offense.  He wasn't killing it over the last couple of years in an offense in which he was more comfortable to begin with, so he shouldn't possess any sort of star status with the Knicks that pushes D'Antoni to start him without his play meriting it in the preseason.

Randolph is of course no favorite here, but as he offers a bit more scoring than Curry does and has been willing to run thus far, he'll likely make the opening night lineup.  Lee has been a fan favorite for some time now, is a hard worker and will have no problems running the floor, hounding the boards and getting some garbage baskets for this team.  It's hard to see Curry as anything but the odd man out thus far, with his only current advantage being that neither of the two in front of him possesses the true center size that Curry does.  But D'Antoni won't necessarily require that for his system anyway.