Curry Showing Signs He's Learning how to Win

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Why doesn't Curry have more performances like that?

''I say this all the time: Eddy would be a senior at DePaul right now,'' Skiles said. ''I mean, expecting him to be dominating the NBA at this point is unrealistic, especially after absorbing so many losses the first three years of his career. He's just now discovering what it feels like to win on a consistent basis and what he needs to do for the team to win.''

Curry doesn't think the Bulls need big scoring games from him on a regular basis to win.

''We're a very balanced team,'' he said. ''We've got guys averaging 10, 12, 14 points. Any time you have points coming from everywhere, no one's going to have a huge night. It's all going to be pretty balanced, and every now and then one guy is going to pick up the other guys.''

But with Kirk Hinrich (left hamstring) out and the Bulls coming off a tough game Friday night in Boston, Saturday was one of those nights when they did need Curry to come up big. He would have topped his career high of 31 points if he hadn't bumped knees with Indiana's Jeff Foster late in the third quarter.

''I wasn't really thinking about that,'' Curry said. ''I was just trying to get a win, and my teammates did a great job of looking for me. That's all you can ask for.''

Even though Curry made it look simple, scoring consistently in the post the way he did Saturday isn't easy and takes contributions from all five players.

''[The Pacers] front the post, and we were ready for that,'' Skiles said. ''We've gotten much better at flashing our other bigs to the high post and catching the ball and throwing it over the top. And we've gotten better at delivering the ball a little bit quicker. There have been times this year when he's gotten good position, but we're not quite ready to deliver it and he has to get out of the lane.''

Another thing that has prevented Curry from having more big scoring games, quite frankly, is his defense. Remember, it was only three weeks ago that Skiles routinely was keeping Curry on the bench in the fourth quarter because of subpar defense. After the two had a brief talk, Curry has shown more effort on that end.

''My defense is coming around,'' he said. ''I still have a ways to go, but I'm definitely playing well enough to be in there in the fourth quarter and try to determine the outcome.''

At 22, Curry is very much a work in progress. He still has many critics around town, but he leads the team with an average of 15.9 points (in 28.6 minutes), and his value never was more obvious than earlier this month when he missed three games with a hamstring injury. The Bulls lost all three.

Curry was asked Saturday if he ever thinks about the fact that he would be a senior if he had opted to go to college.

''Not really,'' he said. ''I think Coach thinks about it more than I do. I just look at it like I made the decision to come to the NBA four years ago, and right now we're all reaping the benefits of it.''</div> Source