Comments on: Felton’s Decline

By: MyBestFriendLandry

MyBestFriendLandry — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 19:00:58 +0000

Oh Ray-Ray… Great stuff here. Not great stuff for Felts.

For those of you two-sport athletes: my first non-ballin’ column for HyperVocal: Why Dan Dierdorf Makes Me Hurt Inside…

http://hypervocal.com/sports/2011/aquilino-why-dan-dierdorf-makes-me-hurt-inside/

(Next installment of Knicks Weekly comin’ soon. It shall be spammed.)

By: Brian Cronin

Brian Cronin — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 22:34:54 +0000

How did that trade improve both teams by five plus wins?

By: Ned Enslot

Ned Enslot — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 22:13:23 +0000

One solution to Feltons decline…
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=4qx88o2
+ draft picks and cash?

By: NateRobinson

NateRobinson — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 22:12:13 +0000

We will get a steady dose of Extra E because of his D and most importantly because of Dirk. Barring any foul trouble (not even a blowout prompts The ‘Stache to throw in the towel. Another fact of his stubborn nature.

By: Frank

Frank — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 21:47:15 +0000

Not sure what to make of Felton’s decline either – I’m sure the Ghost of Ted Nelson would say he’s just coming back to his statistical baseline, which may be true. I’d love to believe that he has a bunch of nagging injuries that are throwing off his shot. As much as I’d love to see him make the All-Star team, I’d rather have him get a week off to rest up.

Re: the last game — at one point late 1st or early 2nd I think we fielded a lineup of:

PG Douglas
SG Fields
SF Gallo
PF Randolph
C Mozgov

with Gallo looking like the point forward. Granted they were playing against the Pistons (and their 2nd unit) but there was lots of ball movement and continuity, and I found myself sort of sad when the regulars all piled back in a few minutes later.

I think Gallo should play more point forward when Felton is off the floor, even as a pick-n-roll partner with Amare. He really seems to have a knack for finding the open man.

By: ess-dog

ess-dog — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 21:28:57 +0000

I think I came off a little too strongly anti-D’Antoni.
Firstly, I don’t fault him for the Darko stuff at all.
I agree with the early benching of Moz and agree that he was rushed in the beginning. I agree that extra e probably did deserve more burn than AR at first. I think a point had to be made with AR.
But the fact that we haven’t outrebounded anyone since the Phoenix game probably warrants at least testing out a big in some spots. Particularly against teams like Phoenix and Sacto.
And in the case of AR, it might just be a case of learning curve. As I always state, he’s only 21. I just wish it wasn’t a foregone conclusion that we would be better off trading him than letting him ripen. I guess I would’ve liked to hear more “he needs to work on his game a lot right now BUT we’re very high on him and think he has a great future here”, stuff like that.
There has been more positive mention of both players lately which is good. And who knows? Maybe in 2 years a lineup of CP3, Fields, Gallo, AR and Stat will be killin’ it w/ Moz, extra e, TD and Chandler off the bench.

By: rama

rama — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 21:11:34 +0000

Garson: The underusage of AR and Moz is becoming a pattern for Dantoni… a bad one.Its reminding me on how he didnt play Darko , on a losing team, and watching him tear is up (for his standards) on the Wolves.

D'Antoni specifically said about a month ago that he had rushed Mozgov into the rotation too early and that he was looking to work him back in. I don't think working him during the Laker game, for instance, would have been too helpful, and here was a perfect situation, and indeed, Mozgov was worked back in. I can't speak on the AR matter, but D'Antoni has been really clear on Mozgov, so talking about it as a pattern is simply wrong. Besides which: is Darko tearing it up? He's got a TS of 48% (for a big man!!) and a WS of .017 - both LOWER THAN LAST YEAR. He's getting more playing time, but with those numbers (and a sad rebounding percentage), any coach who plays him more than D'Antoni is either a worse coach or has worse options. Basically, the guy gets a few blocks (which is good) and makes a few good passes (which is good). Otherwise, he has no game, and every minute D'Antoni played him was a minute a better player could have been on the floor doing more.

By: adrenaline98

adrenaline98 — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 20:49:32 +0000

ess-dog: D’Antoni’s a stubborn fool for not utilizing his bigs thus far. It’s clear that both AR and Moz deserve some minutes. And we have guys that are playing tired, especially Chandler.Yes Detroit sucks, but after that game I’m convinced that these guys should’ve been playing – not right away but at least a few weeks earlier than now.Would they have affected any games? Who knows. But it’s ridiculous that we’re out looking for bigs like Dalembert who are just not as talented as they guys that we already have. (Quote)

I agree with everything but AR. I think we all had pretty high expectations of AR improving upon his excellent play last season (per 36). However, him coming into this situation, he was trying too hard and was overconfident in what he can really bring to the table. I think a player like AR needs to come into a situation like this with the intent of working himself into rhythm, rather than trying to create like the stars. In other words, he needs to come into games doing exactly what he did the other night in his limited minutes. He needs to play defense and rebound, and let the ball come to him like the way Mozgov did. I also believe that if D'Antoni had continued sticking with AR, the Knicks would have lost a lot more games, his confidence would be dashed, and his mindset would be different than what he showed coming in the other night.

By: adrenaline98

adrenaline98 — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 20:45:48 +0000

I don’t think Felton’s numbers have dropped due to him ‘coming down to earth.’ Watching him play, I think he has improved since last year. Yes, he’s more of a leader, but his passing skills and the PnR judgments have shown marked improvements if you simply watch the Knicks game from the beginning of the season versus now. Of course, more familiarity and chemistry fixes the issue. I agreed that his TS at 60% isn’t the Felton we all know, but he’s certainly capable of hitting at 55%, considering how much of an improvement his free throw has been.

I think it’s more or less the fact that he had a wrist injury. The minutes certainly will have a toll as well. Not only do you have less legs, but a higher chance of re-aggravating a wrist injury, due to tired legs (a la playing defense with your hands instead of moving your feet).

I think if the Knicks can secure a legitimate back up POINT GUARD, and give Felton about 34-36 minutes a game for a few weeks, he will produce more efficiently.

By: Robert Silverman

Robert Silverman — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 19:47:16 +0000

massive: Re: the jerseys, I like the new v-neck look a lot, and ditching the black is a good idea. Its seems to me like they’re changing the uniforms back to the old ones one year at a time, so its not some drastic change (like the Cavs and the Jazz made this year).

I dunno, Massive. Lukas seems to suggest that they’re going w/a very minimalist design, like the Cavs did. The throwbacks I posted are just for a couple of nights this season. Pared-down NBA unis are in vogue — look at the Sixers’ new duds and Nike’s whole “system of dress” thingy in the NCAA.

My best guess is it’ll be a ‘modern’ take on this: http://www.watmisaka.com/photos/Springfield/carlBraun.jpg

(W/o the belt, natch)