Michael Curry: Don’t blame AI

Yesterday, Michael Curry tried to deflect some of the criticism lobbed at Allen Iverson's defense. From Chris McCosky in the Detroit News:

"I think he understands what we're doing. At times he's been OK, and at times he's been really good. You look at that Knicks game, and we fell behind by 29 points with (Knicks guard) Chris Duhon doing a lot of penetrating; you look at that and think Allen wasn't doing a very good job. But the reality is, 16 of those 29 points came because our five-man (Kwame Brown) missed his assignment. Allen, other than when he gambles, has done a good job defensively."

Without context, it's unclear if Curry actually meant to single out Brown or if Curry was simply referring to whatever player happened to be manning the position over the course of the game. Either way, Rasheed Wallace accepts his share of the blame, as well:

Q . What about pick-and-roll defense? It still doesn't seem like everybody is on the same page?

Rasheed Wallace: "It's something we have to get fixed, and we will."

Q . You have always been a good pick-and-roll defender. Why does it seem lately like you are struggling with it?

Wallace: "A lot of times it's just me not being as fast as I used to be. Sometimes, too, I've been playing that five-spot (center) and I been focused on being down in that paint and I get indecisive about whether I should leave the basket to go out to the shooters."

Update: From Chris McCosky:

I had inserted Kwame Brown's name next to "five-man" in parentheses because Brown started that game and was on the floor for much of the Knicks' barrage. Well, Curry corrected me. It was both Brown and Amir Johnson who had been guilty of missed assignments. So I stand corrected on that.