Felton keeps fighting despite shooting pains
Raymond Felton's shooting has been off in his last five games. Not surprisingly, the Knicks have lost four of those five. (Jan. 17, 2011) Credit: Christopher Pasatieri
GREENBURGH, N.Y. - Never let anyone tell you the Knicks are not consistent. In fact, you can count on the same sure thing in every game: Someone from the other team smacks Raymond Felton in the left hand and he experiences five minutes of shooting pain.
That is not the kind of consistency they would like, of course, and it was not what they were working on in what they considered a productive and intense practice Tuesday. Mike D'Antoni and his players acknowledged that the team's effort, especially defensively, had dipped in two home losses against weaker teams. So they watched tape, worked hard in preparation for a three-game trip that starts Wednesday night in Houston and repeatedly said that this is the time of the season when NBA teams have to grind it out.
And that brings us to Felton, the potential All-Star point guard who is finding the grind a bit more daunting than usual. He never says anything about his physical condition unless someone asks. Then, he usually answers with a verbal shrug, as he did Tuesday. "I'm a little beat up, hand still hurts, ankle a little sore, but it happens. It's all about the season. You've got to fight through it, you've got to grind it.
"It's a mental thing. Either you're going to sit back and stay in the training room and get treatment and not play, or you're just going to tough it up and get out there on the court. I'd rather be on the court," the righthanded shooter said.
D'Antoni acknowledged that Felton's "energy has come down a little bit.
"He's an energy guy and if he doesn't have it, his shot will be the first that you can see that goes off. He has to get into a rhythm and you get rhythm by playing hard," the coach said. "Maybe it was injuries, I don't know. But he knows he has to get back on it."
Statistics support the claim that Felton's shot has lost its way. In the past month, his field goal percentage has dropped more than 30 points, down to .429. In the past five games, including 3-for-13 in a disquieting 129-121 loss to the Suns Monday afternoon, he has made only 22 of 73 shots. Now that really is shooting pain.
The Knicks do go as he goes - he is shooting .471, but only .374 in their losses. So he would rather leave himself open to criticism than sit out. He does not shy away from driving to the hole, despite knowing that his injured hand is liable to get clipped.
"Every game," he said, "and it swells up every night. It's a bruise inside the ligament down in my knuckle, so it's something you really can't treat - just time off and rest, but there's no time for that."
The team is hopeful of getting tough defender Ronny Turiaf back Wednesday night after he missed the past game-and-a-half with a bruised hip. Felton is hopeful, period. He said his leadership role requires him to be in the lineup. "On top of that," he said, "that's just my personality. I want to play. I'm going to fight through anything."
Notes & quotes: The second class of honorees for Knicks Legends Awards, to be honored on Legends Night Feb. 23, was announced Tuesday. Chosen one per decade, starting with the 1950s, they are Harry Gallatin, Dick Barnett, Earl Monroe, Mark Jackson, John Starks and Allan Houston.
