Reply With Quote
I think he thinks about it too much...thus my choke comment about him.... I now call him Mr Choke....Originally Posted by ziggy
Raymond Felton's poor FG%
I really don't want this to turn into a bashing Raymond thread, We've had plenty of those.
I would just like to understand why his FG% remains so low. Is it poor mechanics, bad form, taking bad shots, forcing shots? What?
Some of you out there with a keener technical eye than me, give me your opinions.
He is a career 39.8% shooter and has gone a painful 15-50 over the past 3 games.
I think he thinks about it too much...thus my choke comment about him.... I now call him Mr Choke....
......Go Bobcats!!!!! !!!..
I just think he takes unnecessary shots...For example, he can be having a great nite passing wise wither everyone hitting shots, but then he's got to go and take stupid shots, and plenty of them...I mean when your point guard is taking the most shots on your team...somethings wrong with that IMO...Pass then shoot...not the otherway around...
It is just maddening. One game he is great, the next you get so mad you want to trade him. And it just repeats itself like a broken record. Over and over again. Maddening.
I also have seen many times where the shot clock is running down to a second or two when he gets the ball passed back to him. I'm certainly not saying there aren't other issues but, a lot of his poor shot selection (and therefore poor FG%) are due to getting the ball passed from a teammate and him forcing it up at the end of the clock. Against the Lakers, we had at least 2 24 second violations and many possesions where we threw up a bad shot at the end. I do love seeing the passing though and that also leads to open looks. Sometimes, we tend to make 1 too many passes...
I'd sure rather see us tend to make one pass too many though than one pass too few. I don't know the stat but we have to be toward the top of the league in assists to made FG ratio.
Felton has showed major improvement this year and I expect his FG% to rise over the next couple of seasons.
I agree with all of this.
Got to add though - he has improved immensley with his driving to the hole and finishing. Also, the added tear drop has been very, very nice.
He just needs to stop forcing his shots and taking unnecessary shots IMO.
He's getting better... About 5-6 shots per game are less than 3 seconds on the clock or attempts at buzzer beaters, which kill his FG% (the buzzer beaters also hurt Ammo's FG% but that's another story).
If we pick a true PG early in this draft though I think that'd be a tell-tale sign that brown is done (again I doubt this).
What to do, what to do...
This is a WAY overlooked portion of it. He by no means is lighting it up, but it SUCKS that he is often put back in for thest last second heaves at the end of quarters. Everytime he throws up one of those halfcourt shots, it irks me b/c I know the fg% analysts won't bring this up when throwing up shooting numbers. The thing is to his credit, he could care less and isn't obsessed with these things and is willing to take that chance even though it tends to cause more statistical harm than good.
The NBA UNLIKE college counts last second heaves as official shots. It's why you will see some guys pass the attempt to someone else or shoot it "just after" the buzzer, as it is a fg% killer. Considering Felton gets the abundance of these shots by a mile, it is enough to knock down his numbers overall. It doesn't take it from 50 to 40% but definitely can take him from 43% (not great but acceptable for a pg who can bring other things to the table) to 40% and his 3 pt % from 33 or so to below 30.
He also is the only guy on the team who can create a shot from anywhere, which means that he will get those end of clock situations a lot more. We have guys who can make plays certain situations. But he is the only one for better and worse who can do that from anywhere on the floor (leading to more of those attempts). We don't have that Brandon Roy, Paul Pierce type who can isolate from anywhere on the court and make a shot or play. So Felton takes on that burden. It's the reason why many folks have wanted to get that type of 2 guard to complete the team despite recognizing the value in what Raja brings.
The other part of the equation that is ignored is the point that Robert makes about Bell. With Felton playing as many minutes as he does (TOO many considering his role) and having to work on defense as much as he does (he rarely gets an assignment that you give to a guy you're trying to hide or preserve), it is often going to take your legs away. He has to realize this at times and adjust, but at the same time cannot just ignore open shots within the flow of the offense as that puts more pressure on your teammates. He's gotta find that balance. Beyond that, it is a matter of shoring up mechanics, confidence, and shot selection.
Finally, he has to figure out how to get to the line. This is the dirty little secret about fg percentages. There are plenty of guys who miss a lot of shots, but get bailed out due to foul calls that don't turn up as fgas. I think his body type hurts him as he doesn't get the same protection that more frail guards get. And he hasn't earned the repuation to protect him as a star gets. Just the same, whether it is LB pre-emptively working the refs or whatever, he's gotta find the way to get to the line more. This could improve fg percentage, but also build confidence while seeing the ball go through the hole.
Agreed on these points.
I've been thinking about this a lot myself lately... While I've played at the college level, I drew a comparison between Felton and myself - It's obvious the guy has got the ability to get to the hole pretty much whenever he wants. But while that is a great advantage, it is also a flaw. When I've played, I usually know I have the quickest first step on the court, and thus, I can get to the basket when I want. Problem was, is that once I got there I'd usually throw up a shot/floater/layup that wouldn't be considered a high percentage shot.
I've seen Felton do this too many time to count. Much like I would usually do, it seems he's so set on getting past that 1st defender that once he does it, he seems to view it as an accomplishment and then anything after that is cake. So the shot resulting from his drive usually is not high percentage, he's just putting up some kind of shot to get it towards the rim. While if he makes it he may make it on Sportscenter's Top 10, if he misses it, he can just say he got to the basket.
My friend I trained with referred to this kind of shot as a "dipsy doo"... Basically saying that it looks great (usually the up-and-under), but it's not always necessary and you would usually end up being better off just going hard to the rim and straight up with the shot. I've seen Felton do this so many times... The style of shot he takes is unecessary.
In addition to all that, I can't tell you how many times I've seen him bring the ball up, cross halfcourt, maybe give a in-and-out move, crossover, whatever, and then jack a shot up with 18 secs left on the shot clock. It's a low percentage shot. He may take a 15-20 foot jumper like Chris Paul does, but Chris Paul takes it at a higher percentage... Watch both of them and see the difference. Chris Paul finds that hole in the defense where he can pull up and no one really has a chance to block it, Felton usually is well-defended.
The last thing that I think contributes to his low FG% is that he often ends up with the ball late in the clock as well and jacks a shot up that has little chance of going in.
Bottom line - all this comes down to decision making.
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks