Raymond Felton: The Worst Point Guard in the NBA?

Coming off a 54 win season and their first Atlantic Division title in nearly 20 years, big things were expected for the Knicks at the beginning of the season. Some people even thought that the Knicks could compete for a championship.[1] But obviously at 19-29 the Knicks season has turned into a nightmare. There have been plenty of down moments during the first 48 games. The nine game losing streak at the beginning of the season, the 41-point loss to the lowly Celtics at home, and the embarrassing loss to the Thunder on Christmas,[2] are some moments that come to my mind. But last night’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, who has the worst record in the NBA, may have been the single most embarrassing moment of the 2013-2014 season. The worst part of watching that game was watching point guard (and I use that term loosely) Raymond Felton. In fact, it’s been frustrating watching Felton play the entire season. The more I watch him, the more I realize that he, in fact, may be the worst point guard in the entire league. And I swear, this is not a spur of the moment opinion, based off last night’s loss to the Bucks. I mean it’s not completely his fault that the Knicks lost last night, even though he only had 3 points, going 1-7 from the field and allowing Brandon Knight to school him on the court. (Knight scored 25 points, including the game winning three over Felton.[3] I thought that Melo waited too long to try to take over the game, Pablo Prigioni had a bad game only scoring 3 points and dishing out one assist, and Iman Shumpert once again was a non-factor on the offensive end.[4] But still after the game, many Knick fans felt that Felton single handedly caused them the game. Felton must have felt the same way because he walked out without talking to the media after the game and didn’t meet with the media after today’s practice. Seriously, just ask ANY Knick fan about Raymond Felton. Between the fat jokes, and the numerous YouTube videos on how bad he is, he has become by far the most hated Knick on the roster.[5] Between him allowing opposing point guards to torch him on a nightly basis, him complaining after every call, and him actually believing that he’s actually good,[6] it’s just torture watching Felton play basketball. It’s gotten so bad that fans would rather see Toure Murray start with Pablo Prigioni. This year, he’s dealt with hip and groin injuries, which is contributing to him having a down season and again, he isn’t the only player on the team who is having a down season. One can argue that besides Melo, everyone is having a down season.[7] But in a point guard driven league, it makes Felton’s struggles so much harder to tolerate. In this point guard driven league, having Felton as a point guard on your favorite team, is like having A Toyota Camry while everyone else is driving a Bentley. A little drastic you might say? Well consider these numbers from Raymond Felton heading into tonight’s games, in comparison to other point guards in the league: · He is tied for 32nd in ppg (10.5)[8] · He’s tied for 22nd in assists per game, despite having the reigning scoring champion as a teammate(5.7) · He is 54th in fg % (.402) , 68th in 3pt % (.299) and 76th in ft % (.706) · He is 58th in PER Between looking at these numbers and watching him on the court, it’s hard for me to take Felton over any point guard in the NBA. I mean seriously, what point guard would you take him over? Definitely not Jeremy Lin, the guy who Knick fans will always link Felton to, fair or not. When the Knicks first decided to let Jeremy Lin go, and resign Felton, many Knick fans were torn. Jeremy Lin was a good player, but some fans thought that his contract was too pricey to match, and that Felton could do the same job that Lin did, at a much cheaper price. Boy, were those fans wrong. Lin is 3-0 against Felton since joining the Rockets. Here are the stats during those three matchups. Jeremy Lin: 18.7ppg 5apg 5.3rebs Raymond Felton: 13ppg 6.3apg 1reb It’s clear that Lin has outperformed Felton head to head. In case you’re still in denial about Felton, here are Lin’s stats in comparison to other point guards in the league: · He is 22nd in ppg (13.4) · He is tied for 33rd in assists per game (4.5) · He is 10th in fg% (.463), 55th in 3pt%(.331) tied for 48th in ft% (.800) · He is 33rd in PER I’m not accusing Jeremy Lin of being the next Chris Paul or anything, but other than assists, he is clearly outperforming Raymond Felton. Lin also brought magic to the Garden, something that Felton will never be able to do. Those two weeks of Linsanity were some of the most enjoyable moments I have ever had as a Knicks fan. It was just fun watching Linsanity bring that electricity to the Garden. He saved the Knicks season, turning an 8-15 team into a playoff team.(Felton on the other hand can save the Knicks season by sitting on the bench with Cole Aldrich and assistant coach Herb Williams).He single-handedly ended the feud between MSG and Time Warner. As someone who foolishly has Time Warner Cable, I still thank Lin for that this very day. I wonder how many Knick fans would still rather have Raymond Felton over Jeremy Lin right now. The good thing about the NBA is that players can quickly redeem themselves. But this week may be tough for Felton with the opposing point guards, he will have to face. Starting tomorrow night, Felton has a chance to redeem himself against Damian Lillard and the Portland Trialblazers . Then on Friday, he faces Ty Lawson, and on Sunday he faces Reggie Jackson and the Oklahoma City Thunder. I myself am not expecting much though; in fact, it will be a shocker if all three opposing point guards don’t score at least 20 points. But nevertheless, Felton can still prove me wrong, after all he is a professional athlete, he has to have some pride right? But if he doesn’t I may start to ponder whether he might be one of the three worst Knick point guards ever. Seriously can any Knick fan confidently name three worse starting point guards in Knick history? Walt Frazier, Mark Jackson, and even Charlie Ward ain’t walking through that door No matter how much I loathe watching Felton play basketball I just have to hope that he and the entire Knick team can turn this season around. [1] Okay only James Dolan was crazy enough to believe that. [2] I know Melo didn’t play but it was still the worst home loss on Christmas day in NBA history [3] Felton’s poor defense allowed the Bucks to score 5 critical points late in the 4th quarter. [4] Iman Shumpert might be the most overrated Knick on the team; some fans wouldn’t trade Lebron for him. [5] Chris Smith had that title before he was released [6] Felton once said, ““I think I am better than any point guard.” No Seriously. [7] Not including Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jeremy Tyler of course. [8] He’s being outscored by D.J. Augustin and Ramon Sessions. No Seriously.