Ironically, after a succession of starts without Raymond Felton, Knicks fans are beginning to appreciate his worth to the team. The lethargic ball movement of the Knicks squad, in recent games, has been attributed to the absence of Raymond Felton. The Knicks on offense can neither move the ball quickly enough to play motion offense nor move off the ball to get open, which leaves the team relying on Carmelo Anthony as a result. With a stagnant offense, defensive woes have also arisen. The Knicks are using more energy on both ends of the court while the opposing teams are exerting less. Come the fourth quarter, the Knicks have little gas left in the tank and become Melo-dependent; whereas the opposing teams still run their flowing offenses and generate better shots. Simply put, if Melo doesn’t have a stellar performance, the Knicks won’t win. So where does Raymond Felton come in all of this?
It seems Melo gets the ball every three possessions—a strategy that has seen little success in the past (just ask any Denver Nuggets fan). Consequently, in the last 12 games since Felton fractured his right pinkie, the team has gone a whooping 6-6 with notable resounding losses to the 76ers and the Trailblazers. During this same stretch, we’ve learned that Jason Kidd is his age, Prigioni lacks a consistent shot, J.R. Smith doesn’t have a point guard mentality, and that Raymond Felton is the only true ball handler on the Knicks.
Felton has completely turned his career around this season, after struggling last season. He has, literally, trimmed the fat and refined his game to mesh with the pick and roll styles of Tyson Chandler and Amar’e Stoudemire. In doing so, Felton has helped lead the Knicks to victories in six of their last eight games.
[caption id="attachment_428" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Raymond Felton's turn around from last year is putting a smile on the faces of Knicks fans."]
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This season, Raymond Felton is averaging 6.3 assists and tacking on an additional 14.8 points. His assists per game average has him in the top 15 of all players in the NBA and on a list surrounded by the likes of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Jeremy Lin, and Brandon Jennings. His 14.8 points per game beats the averages of both Dirk Nowitzki and John Wall, two players whom are heralded for their scoring ability. Lastly, his 2.3 turnovers per game match that of the Clippers’ Chris Paul and are far better than Rajon Rondo’s high 3.9 average. So why does Felton get far less acclaim?
A lot of it has to do with playoff success. In his seven years in the NBA, Raymond Felton has only been to the playoffs twice: once with the Charlotte Bobcats as the starting point guard and once with the Denver Nuggets as the back up to Ty Lawson. The Charlotte Bobcats were swept in that series against the Orlando Magic; however, it was the franchise’s first ever playoff appearance. The Nuggets would steal one game before losing the series to the Thunder, the following year. To a lesser degree, success has followed Felton as he has hopped from team to team. Now, as a member of the New York Knicks, he has an opportunity as a role player to bring success back to the Big Apple. Only time will tell if he can do it, but a run deep into the playoffs seems more than plausible.
Raymond Felton is a leader of this Knicks team. Now, careful! I’m not saying the next Knicks promotional piece should feature the ‘Big Three’ with Raymond Felton sitting on one of Melo’s enormous shoulders, but I do believe the Knicks success is dependent on Raymond Felton. If he relishes in the added pressure of being New York’s point guard, then the Knicks have the potential to go very far in the playoffs as they have all the right pieces. However, Felton needs to be healthy and at his best.
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