Why is Felton described as "shoot first"?

[Targus]

Legit question. I keep hearing this, but his pass/shot ratio appear consistent and news reports frequently describe Felton as pass first.

Would you describe him as pass or shoot first?


Copied:

I'm still not sold on the cliche' he's a shoot first, guard. I haven't seen any stat or pattern in his game to show this. It appears he had to shoot in Charlotte, simply based on the talent around him. To what facts are we basing this "shoot first," besides a few two bit bloggers? In fact, I've seen several reports from published "experts" and scouts describing him as pass first.

His draft bio:

"Felton is a rare breed these days. He is a true pass first point guard looking to get his teammates involved before looking for his own offense. He has incredible court vision and sees things develop long before they are there. On the break he is deadly. He can make difficult passes look easy and is not scared to make those passes, even in traffic. After beating his man off the dribble he does a great job of drawing defenders then dumping the ball off to open teammates in the paint. Despite all his passing skills, Felton is not a showboat and does not make unnecessary, flashy passes. He gets the right person the ball, in rhythm, at the right time."

From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/...#ixzz1QCXZF8UA
http://www.draftexpress.com

Here is just another example of Felton being described as "pass first" from 2010 AOL Sports regarding most improved player...

Contrary to Westbrook, Felton is a pass-first player who's a situational scorer. Out from under Larry Brown's heavy hand, Felton is thriving in Mike D'Antoni's more free-wheeling, permissive offense. His assists are up to 9.0 from his lifetime average of 6.4, and he's now scoring 18.4 points per game as opposed to last season's average of only 12.1.

http://www.aolnews.com/2010/12/23/ru...most-improved/

 

[Mediocre Man]

He tends to try and take over games, and sort of gets his blinders on in situations.

 

[Targus]

Ok, taking over games is not always a good thing. It's not always bad either... His stats are solid. I guess I'm still not understanding why people continue to say he's a shoot first guy. I'm also not seeing how people say his game, shooting and defense is average.

Felton is solid and is going to be a major upgrade - this coming from me (mr negativity) who curses nearly all Blazer drafts and trades dating back to 2006.

 

[Blazinaway]

Ok, taking over games is not always a good thing. It's not always bad either... His stats are solid. I guess I'm still not understanding why people continue to say he's a shoot first guy. I'm also not seeing how people say his game, shooting and defense is average.

Felton is solid and is going to be a major upgrade - this coming from me (mr negativity) who curses nearly all Blazer drafts and trades dating back to 2006.

Given what we gave up and what was likely available PG wise, I don't get the Felton negativity. WTF do some of you think we were going to get for an aging Miller and worthless Rudy and worthless other filler? Felton basically is a younger Miller who is more athletic and defends better and is a better outside shooter, I think Andre has some strengths Raymond does not but on balance we got NINE years younger at PG for pretty much just swapping our older PG. And frankly what PG besides Parker might have been realistically available who is better than RAY? and Parker would have cost us Batum and maybe the 21.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Felton certainly is not a bad pickup. I think it helped that George Karl actually appreciates Miller. Maybe his non-guaranteed deal wasn't the pull that we expected, given that the owners probably expect not to have to pay ANY salaries next year. If we get the New York Felton, I will be very happy. Remember, this is a guy taken one pick after Chris Paul...

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Because many people on this board look for any reason to bash the Trail Blazer front office, true or not.

 

[Targus]

True that, Blazin and Beer.

Welcome Felton!! I look forward to GREAT times with you at the helm!

 

[3RA1N1AC]

i think millers career 18 PER is a motivating factor behind everyones apprehensions, but i will hold out high hopes

go blazers!

 

[Ed O]

I consider him shoot first because I have watched him for years (I tend to draft a lot of Bobcats on my fantasy teams, including Gerald Wallace, in the past) and he's not good at creating for others. He looks for his own shot more often than I'd prefer a PG to do so.

That's why Felton is described (by me) as "shoot first".

We'll see what he's like as a Blazer.

Ed O.

 

[Ghost Pepper]

Rudy playing in a REAL offense in Dallas will be deadly. I can't say this enough that if we had MJ with Nate as his coach he'd have been Travis Outlaw!

 

[Targus]

I respect that, Ed O. I see people stating he's shoot first and others saying he's pass first. Was looking for statistical data to backup either position.

Maybe it's possible he's both, given different scenarios/matchups.

I personally like Felton and think he's a great add.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Maybe in Charlotte he needed to be a shoot first PG because they had few players who could shoot. Because in NY he didn't seem to be. Denver I can't remember. But again I think we need a PG who can score.

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

Felton is about as much as we could have asked for when shipping out Rudy and Miller.

He is younger and fits with our core. He isn't a bad player to have.

People can talk about adding Batum to get a better PG and such, but San Antonio ended up dealing Hill instead, and who knows what those discussions actually were.

If we would have taken Faried at 21 instead of Smith, I think less people would be complaining.

I'd rather go sign a guy like Reggie Evans with some of the MLE though.

 

[Targus]

Felton vs Miller Stats:

http://www.hoopsstats.com/basketbal...layers/raymond-felton/comparison/11/7/487/358

Is there any debate that Miller had the luxury of being settled and played with more talent?

I'm excited about Felton.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

I think you misheard. It's "SHORT first". (And "fat second".)