bobcats.com
May 12, 2008
in 2007-08.
There’s no question about it. Raymond Felton is passionate about the game of basketball. He wants to win and his competitive spirit drives him to do whatever he can to help the team accomplish its goal.
It is this attitude that carried the 6-1 guard through the 2007-08 campaign, his third in the league.
As the team met for its annual training camp and media day, Felton, who spent the previous two seasons, sharing the backcourt with Brevin Knight, was ready for his opportunity to grab the reins.
“I’m acting like this because the season is finally here,” Felton said as a smile stretched from ear to ear. “I can’t wait to get started.”
The season started off well for Felton and the Bobcats. Over the first 10 games, the South Carolina native led Charlotte to a 6-4 record, the best start in franchise history. Felton’s play was a major part of the Bobcats success. He averaged 16.6 points and 7.3 to start the season, missing one game, a 93-64 loss in Philadelphia, due to knee injury.
Even when the Bobcats fell on difficult times, Felton’s confidence never wavered. His tenacity was fully evident on December 8 when the Bobcats faced the Cleveland Cavaliers. Stuck in a seven-game losing streak, the Bobcats were desperately looking for a victory.
Clinging to slim advantage late in the fourth quarter, Felton sealed the 96-93 win with clutch free throw shooting. Ten straight times in the final 30.8 seconds he stepped to the free throw line and each time the shot found its mark.
“I knew I could hit every single one of them, so I was trying to go to the ball and try to sew up the game as much as I could,” said Felton after finishing with 15 points and six assists. “I kept getting fouled and kept going to the free-throw line, but we pulled it out. I have a lot of heart and I fear nothing – there’s no question.”
After playing as the primary point guard through the first 27 games of the season, Felton’s role began to shift in late December when he began to be asked to play more of the shooting guard position
Over the course of the next two months, Felton shuttled between these two positions as the Bobcats tried to find a combination that worked.
Regardless of where he was playing, Felton’s commitment to doing what was asked of him to help the team never diminished.
On February 29, Felton returned full-time to the point guard position and the role where he felt most at home.
“I’m a basketball player,” he said. “Whatever my role needs to be, that’s what I need to do. Of course I feel comfortable now because I’m playing the point, but whatever the team needs me to do for us to get a win, that’s what I’ll do.”
The move paid dividends for the Bobcats. Charlotte posted a better than .500 record going 13-12 over the final 25 games of the season.
Felton also flourished as he embraced the responsibility of running the team.
Over the last 25 games, he averaged 15.5 points and 8.5 assists while playing more than 38 minutes per game.
Several highlights during that stretch included a 23-point, 11-assist outburst in a win over Atlanta followed by a 14-point, 12-assist effort one night later at Washington.
In the final seven games of the season, he posted double-figures in every contest to average 17.8 points and tallied four 10-plus assists games to post a 9.7 assist average.
“It is about taking over the leadership, they gave me the ball, they gave me the team and I am playing the point,” remarked Felton during that stretch. “I am just being aggressive which is my game and getting guys the ball is my game.”
Over the course of the season, Raymond Felton grew as a basketball player.
He spent the season honing his leadership skills and working on making better decisions on the court.
"I'm trying to run the team to the best of my ability and show these guys I'm a leader,” he said. “I want to be the leader. I'm trying to earn the team's confidence. They believe I'm going to get them shots and lead them to victory.”
His hard work paid off in the latter stages of the season as he seemed to play with a better understanding of when to distribute the ball and when he needed to be the aggressor and look to score.
With this growth on the court came some career-best numbers. He finished the season shooting 41.3 percent from the field up from 38.4 percent a year ago. He also averaged a career-best 14.4 points and 7.4 assists.
His assist average ranked him second in the Eastern Conference and seventh in the NBA.
Felton had some ups and downs over the season as he tried to find stability in his role with the team.
Overall, most of his numbers improved from the previous year.
One of the only categories to take a dip was three-point shooting.
This season he shot 28 percent from the three-point range compared to 33 percent in 2006-07. He did however take significantly fewer three pointers this season as opposed to last season. This season he attempted 200 three-pointers compared to 312 a year ago.
Over the course of the season, Felton was a pretty reliable guy to have on your fantasy roster if you needed points and assists. He played 79 games and posted 17 point/assist double-doubles. He finished the campaign with 60 double-figure scoring efforts and had only two games where he finished with less than three assists.
On April 2 against Cleveland, Felton dished out nine assists to move ahead of Brevin Knight and become the franchise leader in career assists. He finished the season with 1,566 career assists.
“I’m running the team,” said Felton. “I’m trying to be mature about it and show that I’m a leader. I am trying to show this team that I’m the leader and I want to be the leader. I’m just trying to win games. I’m trying to do whatever I can do to help us win games.”
Marcus Timmons:
It is very pleasing to see Raymond grow as a basketball player and a person. I have known him since he was a kid and I can honestly say that I am genuinely happy for him. This is just the beginging for Ray. He was built for this from birth. I'm honored to have witnessed this.
Jennifer:
RAYMOND IS AN AWESOME PLAYER AND WE LOVE HIM!!! RAYMOND SHOWED EVERYONE THAT DREAMS DO COME TRUE!
wallieb:
If Raymond Jr. ever get the shooting touch of his dad then he will be in the top five of the NBA. I played against his dad and he was awesome and a clutch player to say the least.
ronald:
i think raymond is a great fit for the bobcats and i wish but great things for him.
bobcatsyes:
great article. On so many forums I read negative things about Ray.I have to wonder if they are referring to the same above mentioned pg. His leadership, drive, and stats for such a young man are proof of his stature in the nba. Prove those naysayers wrong once again Ray.
BobcatnGA:
As a lifelong Tarheel fan, I love Raymond and love what he bring to the 'Cats.
Andrew:
The Bobcats just need to be patient, as Raymond is coming into his own! I love Raymond he Saved my beloved Tar Heels, if he can do that he can save the Bobcats as well! Its what he does! It wasnt till Roy Williams came that he took it to another level, and now with fellow Tar Heel Larry Brown, Felton will be his dream come TRUE, because Raymond Plays the Right way THE CAROLINA WAY!
Let us know what you think.
Send us your response to this article or video and we'll post it on bobcats.com using your selected screen name.
|
|
|