Felton Plans to Play His Game
Sep 27 2010 4:41PM
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Felton signed a free agent contract with the Knicks on July 12, 2010.
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Raymond Felton doesn’t want to draw comparisons to Steve Nash all season.
Sure, there was a time when Nash played in Mike D’Antoni’s system alongside Amar’e Stoudemire in Phoenix, but Felton doesn’t think that means he’ll have to be identical to Nash in order to be successful.
“Steve Nash is Steve Nash and I’m Raymond Felton,” the new Knicks floor general said. “I’m not going to look at too much of what he does because it’s still going to be different no matter what. He is who he is and I am who I am. But at the same time, I definitely watch a lot of film (of all players) because I’m a student of the game”
Felton studies the elite point guards in the league - including Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Nash - but says he wouldn’t completely change his style of play based on anyone else. Instead, he will take different pieces from each player’s game and see if he can add it to his own repertoire.
“I’m a fan of everybody,” he said.
Stoudemire, who became a five-time All-Star while playing with Nash, points out the fact that both Nash and Felton have what it takes to guide a team. But he also notes that Nash is more of a finesse, “distributing guard,” while Felton is a “bulldog,” because he likes to overpower the opposition, especially on the defensive end.
“I’d say all point guards are similar if you are a professional and come to work every day,” Stoudemire said. “But everybody has a different style of play.”
Felton would, however, like nothing more than to reach the level of success as D’Antoni, Nash and Stoudemire had with the Suns for the four full seasons they were together. From 2004 to 2008, Phoenix averaged 58 wins per season and reached the Western Conference Finals twice. Nash was named the league’s MVP twice during that period.
“I’m going to play the way I play and he’s going to play the way he plays,” Felton explained. “But at the same time, to be able to accomplish the same things with his teams is the same thing I want to do with this team. No question.”
Felton may be new to D’Antoni’s system, but his relationship with Stoudemire dates back to the summer of their sophomore year in high school. Although they never played on the same high school team together, Felton and Stoudemire participated in camps and All-Star games together before Stoudemire made the leap to the NBA out of high school and Felton went on to a career in the collegiate ranks at the University of North Carolina.
Before the Knicks even had their first practice of training camp, Felton could already feel the chemistry building between him and Stoudemire on the court.
“Just by playing pickup with him the past two or three weeks I know where he likes the ball now,” Felton said. “That’s something I’ve already picked up on. So it’s going to be interesting.”
After four full practices, Stoudemire feels they’re headed in the right direction.
“Me and Raymond are adapting to each other pretty quick,” Stoudemire said. “The coaching staff is doing a great job explaining the offense and the spacing. We are pretty much veteran players now so we understand the importance of spacing,”
“This offense is really all about getting out on the break, filling your lanes and having good spacing,” Stoudemire added. “Raymond does a great job of getting the ball to guys who are open. We have bigs who can get up and down the court with the best of them so you have to take advantage of that.”
D’Antoni clearly knows what it’s like to coach a star point guard star in Nash. But the question now is: can Felton also become a superstar while running the same system?
“I think he can be,” D’Antoni said. “He has to be a big, big part of what we do, and he’s shown that he can do it. We want to get him up to the next level of point guards. I don’t want to get too crazy as usual, but the guy has a winning edge and he’s a tough guy. There’s no reason he can’t keep climbing."
Sure, there was a time when Nash played in Mike D’Antoni’s system alongside Amar’e Stoudemire in Phoenix, but Felton doesn’t think that means he’ll have to be identical to Nash in order to be successful.
“Steve Nash is Steve Nash and I’m Raymond Felton,” the new Knicks floor general said. “I’m not going to look at too much of what he does because it’s still going to be different no matter what. He is who he is and I am who I am. But at the same time, I definitely watch a lot of film (of all players) because I’m a student of the game”
Felton studies the elite point guards in the league - including Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Nash - but says he wouldn’t completely change his style of play based on anyone else. Instead, he will take different pieces from each player’s game and see if he can add it to his own repertoire.
“I’m a fan of everybody,” he said.
Stoudemire, who became a five-time All-Star while playing with Nash, points out the fact that both Nash and Felton have what it takes to guide a team. But he also notes that Nash is more of a finesse, “distributing guard,” while Felton is a “bulldog,” because he likes to overpower the opposition, especially on the defensive end.
“I’d say all point guards are similar if you are a professional and come to work every day,” Stoudemire said. “But everybody has a different style of play.”
Felton would, however, like nothing more than to reach the level of success as D’Antoni, Nash and Stoudemire had with the Suns for the four full seasons they were together. From 2004 to 2008, Phoenix averaged 58 wins per season and reached the Western Conference Finals twice. Nash was named the league’s MVP twice during that period.
“I’m going to play the way I play and he’s going to play the way he plays,” Felton explained. “But at the same time, to be able to accomplish the same things with his teams is the same thing I want to do with this team. No question.”
Felton may be new to D’Antoni’s system, but his relationship with Stoudemire dates back to the summer of their sophomore year in high school. Although they never played on the same high school team together, Felton and Stoudemire participated in camps and All-Star games together before Stoudemire made the leap to the NBA out of high school and Felton went on to a career in the collegiate ranks at the University of North Carolina.
Before the Knicks even had their first practice of training camp, Felton could already feel the chemistry building between him and Stoudemire on the court.
“Just by playing pickup with him the past two or three weeks I know where he likes the ball now,” Felton said. “That’s something I’ve already picked up on. So it’s going to be interesting.”
After four full practices, Stoudemire feels they’re headed in the right direction.
“Me and Raymond are adapting to each other pretty quick,” Stoudemire said. “The coaching staff is doing a great job explaining the offense and the spacing. We are pretty much veteran players now so we understand the importance of spacing,”
“This offense is really all about getting out on the break, filling your lanes and having good spacing,” Stoudemire added. “Raymond does a great job of getting the ball to guys who are open. We have bigs who can get up and down the court with the best of them so you have to take advantage of that.”
D’Antoni clearly knows what it’s like to coach a star point guard star in Nash. But the question now is: can Felton also become a superstar while running the same system?
“I think he can be,” D’Antoni said. “He has to be a big, big part of what we do, and he’s shown that he can do it. We want to get him up to the next level of point guards. I don’t want to get too crazy as usual, but the guy has a winning edge and he’s a tough guy. There’s no reason he can’t keep climbing."
