PHOENIX — Shaquille O’Neal says he’s up to 340 pounds and dares you to call him out of shape. As for fellow 300-plus club member (sometimes, at least) Eddy Curry, whose conditioning is regularly questioned, O’Neal says the motivation should be simple.
“If he wants to get that next contract, he’s going to have to go to the New York Athletic Club three times a day and just ride the bike,” Shaq said Sunday. The visiting Knicks and Suns meet tonight.
Coincidentally, riding a stationary bike has been the extent of what Curry has done this season because of a painful bone bruise in his left knee. There’s also a little ego bruise he’s nursing as a result of Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni’s decision to bench him during the preseason because of conditioning issues.
O’Neal, who came to the Suns in a blockbuster trade for Shawn Marion late last season, said he liked D’Antoni’s system and believes that Curry could have success in it. But it’s probably time to put an end to those early comparisons people made between the two.
“He hasn’t come close,” O’Neal said of Curry. “But what I like about him, he’s strong and aggressive. But I want to see him get up against the big names. If you want to be somebody, you’ve got to kill everybody. When I was young, it took me a while to get up for everybody. It’s hard for me to get up for (Kings center) Spencer Hawes. Somebody asked me, ‘Who is Spencer Hawes?’ Who is Spencer Hawes? And they did a big article, ‘Shaq doesn’t know Spencer Hawes.’
“But I get up for (Yao) Ming; I get up for those guys every day,” O’Neal said. “When you’re an OK center that’s trying to be good, you got to get up for everybody every night.”
