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View Full Version : My take on Felton



Cashville_333
01-29-2008, 08:00 PM
Lurking quite a bit on the board I noticed that the play of Felton is discussed alot.

Felton's three year here have been up and down. He's been inconsistent. Has games where he looks brilliant, one's where you dont know what the hell he's doing. Now he should be criticized for not producing at a consistent rate, but does he deserve most of the blame?

Ray ended his rookie campaign on a high note, showed flashes of brilliance. The start of his second year, Brevin Knight remained the starter. One may say that Knight should have started due to the fact that he was the more experienced PG, but we were not really expecting to make any sort of playoff run, why not give your second year PG all the PT he could get, inorder to learn? Whatever, Felton was later moved to the two spot, so that he could get PT. You see here is where I just cannot understand what the coaching staff was thinking. You dont put an inexperienced young PG at a different position, that just screws things up because each position has a different role, different mentality. Later in the year, Knight gets hurt, Rays starts at PG. He had a great run before and after the AS break. He tailed off towards the end of the season. Knight comes back, Ray goes back to the two spot.

This year he was named the starting PG, but was he really the teams PG? Even before Jeff got the starting spot Jeff was playing more PG minutes. Ray would start the first 6min of every half at PG, but Jeff would finish games. You cant flip flop, ask the man to do one thing, what do you want him to be? Guys point to his flaws, but imo some of those flaws can be linked to his time at SG.

1. Aggressiveness: There are moments in the game when you dont even know he is on the floor. Then there's times when he is dominating. That's mental. Now, that could be something he came into the league with, but seeing as how the position(s) he has been playing flip flop on a constant basis, it would be foolish to not factor it in into what is a lack of balance in his aggression.

2. Lack of progression/Inconsistency: Inorder for a player to progress, they must feel comfortable. The game should get slower. This is Felton's third year and a guy like Rajon Rondo who was in the 06 draft has played more minutes (at PG). Some of Felton's issues like decision making improve with experience because the player is learning, with Felton it's been on and off, not much time for him learn from his errors and 'get it'. Inconsistent minutes at a position = inconsistent production


There are people who are writing off Felton (not just here) as an nba PG. To those people I will ask, has he gotten the opportunity to prove what he can do? I believe Felton is a very good passer, but his inconsistent behavior has me concerned. THIS is the year to find out whether or not he is the guy. We must play him at the PG spot. Why? We need to find out whether or not he is the guy. This will effect our moves in the offseason. Can we really make personnel moves at the PG spot, and feel comfortable about them right now? For example the Magic have played Nelson at PG, given him tons of opportunities to prove himself, he has failed, and now they can make moves to address that position. Can we say the same thing about Felton?
I dont want Felton to leave, get to play PG on another squad, and blow up (the kid has the talent to be great). Judging from Vincent's comments I believe he doesn't really like Felton (as a player). All in all, we used the number 5 pick on this guy, it's just crazy how he has yet to have ONE year where he was the the team's starting PG. I just want this team to succeed, we would be a playoff team right now if Jeff wasn't killing us.


oh yea....









FIRE VINCENT!!!

ammofan
01-29-2008, 08:10 PM
I agree with evrything you said and especially the last two words!

davcbow
01-29-2008, 08:13 PM
I agree with evrything you said and especially the last two words!


Dang man you beat me to it.... :g:

Welcome to BobcatsPlanet Cashville :biggrin:

willyfray
01-29-2008, 08:34 PM
I think part of Felton's problem this year is Vincent's reluctance to play him as the sole point guard. McInnis should primarily be an insurance policy or a player who gives Felton a rest, not someone who comes in, takes over the PG role for some amount of minutes, and relegates Felton to SG. Not only does this hinder Felton's development into a true point guard, it also hurts the team overall as McInnis is much worse than Felton. Vincent (or Jordan) needs to realize this and make this line-up change, because it would help Felton and the team. Also, leaving Felton at PG would free up the SG spot 100% of the time, meaning that J-Rich, GW, and Carroll (whom I would consider to be the next member of the Big Four if one was to add another player to the group), which can only add to our scoring total, as Felton is able to develop into a better passer and the best shooters are allowed to shoot more.

MattD
01-29-2008, 08:51 PM
Willy Fray on the bobcats planet... I know him (bonus points for getting new members to the sight?). Anyways yeah felton has been a big part of our discussions, however we obviously need him. We break down without him, so either him or a better true PG. god if we dont make the playoffs send us derrick rose

ziggy
01-29-2008, 09:02 PM
... You see here is where I just cannot understand what the coaching staff was thinking. You dont put an inexperienced young PG at a different position, that just screws things up because each position has a different role, different mentality.
Amen :) Welcome to BobcatsPlanet and... Fine Ham Biscuit!

CMc$
01-29-2008, 09:34 PM
Welcome to BobcatsPlanet Cashville!

Very well said post here. I agree with everything you say. Hopefully Felts will develop into a fine point guard. We know its there. It's just getting it to work with this team.

spectre
01-29-2008, 10:31 PM
Cashville welcome, and I echo what everyone else said.

Vincent shouldn't have been pressured to make the playoffs so strongly his first season; that put the emphasis on the RECORD vs. the best interests of the team. It's much more important for us to find out what we really have in Felton vs. getting sweeped in the 1st round. The cost could be very severe.

I don't like Vincent, can't stand his comments to the media and pretty much just want him gone...but this isn't entirely his fault. At any point Jordan could just step in and change it all.

Keetch
01-30-2008, 12:12 AM
Watch Felton when he's at SG with McInnis at Point. Nearly every offensive set he trots to the corner near the baseline and just stands there for a while. Sometimes he swings around to get the ball; but a lot of times he never touches it.

Thats called disappearing, but its not Felton; its what he's being told to do.

TheBeagle
01-30-2008, 12:16 AM
Your take on Raymond is spot-on! People can say what they want about him, but he means as much to this team as anyone outside of Crash. We've proven we can't even beat a team like Philly without him (0-2, in fact!). He should be getting primo PG minutes but for whatever reason, Vincent prefers Jeff to start. Also, this lineup has shown us that Raymond is NOT a 2 guard; he can't make a jump shot consistently, and at times, not even an open jumper.

He thinks too much, whereas most great PGs operate on instinct. As I've said 4 or so times on this site, I think this is a product of being a Tarheel PG. Tarheel PGs are the equivalent of "system quarterbacks" in that each, because their role in college is so vastly different from what is run in the pros, has trouble adjusting to the pro game.

Also, it hasn't helped that he's had no real mentor while he's been in the league, what with BK concerned about getting his minutes and all.

Ultimately, it comes down to wins and losses, and as we've seen, though we may lose with Raymond at times, we can't win without him, and in that sense, maybe less of a focus should be put on his "numbers", and just say he's an "intangibles" guy. I know we can't find a PG any more genuine and hardworking than Raymond, so that's good enough for me.

Shrimpy_Jackson
01-30-2008, 06:47 AM
So looking back now do you think perhaps we should have passed on a PG instead of taking Felton? Just used BK as a stop gap until the next year? Wonder what things would be like.


:afro: