There were a lot of statistical techniques I learned from reading Bill James’s “Baseball Abstracts” in the 1980s, but one of his comments that resonated most deeply with me dealt with tactics: “Good teams don’t ask their players to do things they can’t do.”

Now, that might seem like just plain common sense. But after growing up watching a variety of inept Chicago teams, then moving to New York where there was no shortage of losers, that comment rang true to me. It came to mind this weekend while I was watching the situation between the Knicks and center Eddy Curry approach a boiling point.

Curry is frustrated by his lack of playing time, and the team is aggravated by his inability to diversify his skills. His playing time has slipped precipitously: He played only nine minutes in Friday night’s 103–99 Knicks win against the Toronto Raptors. In the rematch against Toronto on Sunday, a 115–92 loss, he played 26 minutes — but only because he was on the floor for extensive garbage time in the fourth quarter. Curry was acquired by the Knicks in a sign-and-trade deal with the Chicago Bulls three seasons ago, and folks in Chicago still haven’t stopped giggling. The Bulls obtained the lottery picks that became forward Tyrus Thomas and center Joakim Noah. The Knicks treated Curry as if he would be their cornerstone center for the next decade.

But Bulls fans knew he had too many holes in his game. He doesn’t rebound well (5.4 per game for his career), he doesn’t run the floor well, and he’s a poor choice to man a defense — he’s disinterested in directing the D, as the center as the tallest player on the floor usually directs his teammates alerting them to screens and other maneuvers.

What Curry does well is score in the low post. Throw him the ball in the low post, and unless he commits an offensive foul, he’s usually going to score a basket. He has a soft touch and good moves near the hoop. So why are the Knicks asking him to do something that he can’t do?

Well, no one has accused these Knicks of being a good team.

There’s a place for players who do one thing really well: the second unit. It’s where you find sharpshooters from behind the arc with few other skills, guys who can handle the ball and set up an offense but not shoot, and players who can defend but have no offensive game. Curry belongs on the Knicks’ second unit. In fact, he should be the offensive cornerstone of the second unit, getting upwards of 20 minutes per contest.

If the Knicks made this move, several good things would happen for their roster management. For one, it would finally end the disastrous attempt to create a Twin Tower-frontcourt between Curry and power forward Zach Randolph. The Knicks constantly fall behind in the first quarters of games due to this tandem’s inability to share the paint, the ball, and defend the interior.

Secondly, it will alleviate the problem of Curry guarding the opposing team’s starting center. Curry’s inability to defend often results in him getting in early foul trouble, and opponents get into the bonus earlier in the opening frame. Most backup centers are not potent offensively, so Curry will have an easier matchup and be able to stay on the floor longer. One reason the Knicks have struggled to find a consistent second unit is the lack of offensive threats to play with the reserves. The solution right now has been to play Jamal Crawford every minute until he begs for oxygen. Curry’s presence on the second unit would solve that.

Lastly, the additional benefit of moving Curry into a reserve role is that it moves David Lee — when measured by John Hollinger’s Player Efficiency Rating, he is the team’s best player — into the starting lineup. Lee has deserved 30-plus minutes a game since emerging as a rebounding force last season. This season, he’s added a midrange jump shot, and his energetic play is infectious.

For Curry, this would assure him a role and substantial playing time. One of Curry’s present annoying qualities is that he doesn’t know his role. Of course, a big part of the problem is that he isn’t the player the Knicks thought they were getting when they coughed up two lottery picks to get him. But Curry came into the NBA with one skill, and after four seasons in Chicago, he still had just that one skill. What that should have told the Knicks, who were bidding against themselves to sign Curry to a six-year, $55 million contract, was they were getting a one-dimensional player. A smart team would have tamped down the bidding a little.

Mike Kurylo, the writer behind Knickerblogger.net, has a theory that Isiah Thomas was ruined by his rookie year as a coach with the Indiana Pacers. That season, the Pacers acquired Jermaine O’Neal, who had been buried on the bench with Portland. In Indianapolis, O’Neal became a superstar. Thomas believes that he has some magic wand that can make players great. In fact, any cursory look at O’Neal’s per minute production indicated that he was a great player only in need of burn.

This era of the Knicks has been full of flawed acquisitions that Thomas hoped would blossom. Most won’t, but the Curry problem has a simple solution that would, in turn, solve several other problems. It’s indicative of the organizational blindness at the Garden that no one sees it.

mjohnson@nysun.com