NBA Insider with Ken Berger

Chicago – Fairly uneventful shootaround at the United Center today – much more uneventful than my United flight here. But more on that later.

Isiah Thomas said he is not changing the starting lineup, which means that struggling Eddy Curry will be announced with the starters tonight against the team that traded him. Unless Quentin Richardson (game-time decision with a strained knee tendon) can’t go, it’ll be the usual starting five, less Stephon Marbury.

Why? Here’s what the coach said:

“We’ll do some things differently strategically,” Thomas said. “But in terms of lineup changes, we’re not going to change the lineup. Eddy’s struggling a little bit now, but I’m confident that he’ll come out of it. The shots he’s missing and the shots that he’s getting, they’re great looks. Any time you can get a shot four, five feet from the basket consistently, his history proves that he’s going to knock those shots down.

“Defensively, we’ve got to help him and we’ve got to do some things better for him. Maybe look at playing a little bit more zone, helping him out in some different situations. There’s some things physically that he can’t do and my job as a coach is to find some ways to try to help him so we can keep him out on the floor.”

Sounds like it’ll be another quick-hook night for Eddy, although that’s not what Eddy says.

“I’m just not able to make shots right now,” Curry said, talking through the fat lip he got from Josh Howard Monday night. “I think that at some point a lot of players go through that and you’ve just got to work your way through it. Eventually, I’ll make baskets. I’m not worried about this being just a horrible season for me. I’m just having a rough stretch right now. And we’re losing, so it’s really kind of magnifying it. But I don’t think this will last forever. I think I’m going to work through it tonight. I look at every game as an opportunity to kind of turn things around.”

Q-Rich said he did most of the drills in shootaround but was wearing a bulky brace on his right knee.

The daily Stephon Marbury update provided no news, except that Thomas couldn’t even say for sure that Marbury would be back Monday night against the Pacers. Steph’s indefinite leave of absence while grieving the loss of his father has gotten to the point where I thought it was time to ask Thomas if Marbury was considering not coming back at all. Remember his comments this past summer, when he said during his Starbury sneaker tour that his life was bigger than basketball? Makes you wonder if coming back and playing in the building where his father fell ill will be too much for him to bear.

“I haven’t gotten that,” Thomas said. “That would be a question you can ask him when you see him.”

If we ever see him again.

XXX

Now for a travel story. As you are aware, the N.Y.C. area was hit by a debilitating snow, sleet, and ice storm on Thursday. Having volunteered to give Alan a breather, I decided to head to LaGuardia five hours before my scheduled 5 p.m. flight in hopes of flying stand-by on an earlier flight. Almost eleven hours later, I finally landed in Chicago.

I don’t usually fly United, and I’m not into giving plugs. But I thought they handled the situation extremely well. There was one dude manning the P.A. mic who brought some levity to the situation, interspersing some humor into his announcements. I could tell that some travelers didn’t appreciate it, but I did.

“We strongly advise that you rebook for tomorrow,” he said at one point. “So get on your cell phones, your blueberries, your Blackberries, your huckleberries, and call the 800 number to rebook.”

I thought that was funny.

Finally, the only reason I made it out at all yesterday was due to a gate agent – I believe her name was Janet – who appreciated the fact that I was being patient. A tip for travelers: Don’t get agitated with the gate agents. They have the stand-by list at their fingertips and can put you at the top of the list or the bottom – or off completely – at their sole discretion.

Just as I was about to pack it in around 6 o’clock, after failing to make it off two stand-by lists and having three flights canceled, I heard my name called. It was for a flight I wasn’t booked on, nor was I on the stand-by list. It was one of the only flights that left LaGuardia for Chicago after about 11:30 a.m. yesterday.

By this time, Janet was long gone, probably digging her car out and heading home on treacherous roads. Anyway, thanks. It was nice to encounter some competence for once.

Oh, one more thing. Check out Sam Smith’s column today in the Chicago Tribune. A few slaps on the back for his pal, Isiah. He also takes some shots at New York and New Yorkers.

Thomas, echoing Frank Sinatra, often says New York is a tough place to make it. In sports it's a borderline hysterical place. My favorite line about New York sports is the definition of a dynasty: When a family in China rules for hundreds of years, or a New York team has a three-game winning streak.

Thomas is losing, and how dare anyone do that to New Yorkers, who deserve better. I agree. If you must live your life in a miserable, overpopulated city with crumbling infrastructure—and do you know what they charge for a pastrami sandwich?—don't you deserve more sporting satisfaction than anyone else?

I like Sam a lot, but have to take issue with his preference for Chicago. (Smoking in restaurants? Can we evolve?) Plus, I like expensive pastrami sandwiches.