Mabbott: Come On, Give Raymond Felton A Break
Casey Mabbott of OregonSportsNews.com writes that Portland Trail Blazers point guard Raymond Felton is getting more criticism than he deserves...
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Give the guy a break. He just got here, and yes, that is a valid point as well as an excuse.
Perhaps many of you could leave Portland, go to another job in another state, and have everything nailed down inside of thirty days, even though most new employees are allotted a ninety-day "probationary" period to learn the ropes, get settled, and show what they can do.
Why then, should Felton only get thirty days?! Let’s keep that in perspective, Felton has been with the team exactly thirty days, receiving his first game action on December 26th when the team opened against Philadelphia.
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Probationary period
Isn’t where you can screw up your job and they forgive you, it’s where a company is trying you out without having to shell out benefits. Its kind of the opposite of what mabbott is asking for, during the probationary period they can fire you without any cost to themselves.
I agree with the article but that simile doesn’t work.
Hic Sunt Dracones
by TheOdenator on Jan 27, 2012 4:23 PM PST via mobile reply actions
90 days is most of the season
IMO much of the criticism is deserved at this point. I really hope he improves though. I’d be one of the first to give him props if he gets it together. He’s had a couple of solid games.
Hard for me to watch the paint packed out with defenders when we have a PG that’s supposed to be decent from 3pt. The 1 and the 2 need to step it up.
Please stop pointing out the cold realities of this compacted season.
It makes it hard for me to construct narratives.
by NeverSummer on Jan 27, 2012 4:25 PM PST reply actions 3 recs
probationary period
is a 90 day period before you get benefits and are considered “permanent part time” Has nothing to do with screwing up, it just gives companies 3 months to figure out if they wanna keep the employee.
Sing WIth Me!
“All we are saying…is Give Ray a Chance!, All we are saying…is Give Ray a Chance!”…
Actually? Seriously? I agree with this. Felton has been under the uber microscope of public and fan scrutiny ever since he unwisely hoisted a donut during the lock-out.
I really do agree, that we should step back and give him some breathing room.
That being said? At what point do we start to hold him accountable? 1/2 way through the season? 2/3rds?
I’m not expecting instant perfection, nor perfection ever…but at some point? I do need to see more than what I’m seeing now.
So for now? I’ll continue to give Raymond Felton a chance…but there has to be an expiration date on it…when we start to say…what I’m seeing…is what I’m getting…and then you have to decide if that’s enough.
"Mother Nature started this fight, I think it's about time we ended it!"
by Krang on Jan 27, 2012 4:28 PM PST reply actions 3 recs
Like you, I agree with much of this. . .
I think the article misses a few points, though: expectations of Felton never seemed quite as high as he makes them out to be. He had an excellent (short) career in New York. And he’s certainly not a younger, faster Andre Miller.
As for your reply, what does it mean, “hold him accountable”? I think we can realistically comment on how he’s doing—compare the actuality with the desired outcome—while still cutting him slack. We should know by the end of the season how it’s going to work out. In the meantime, we’re winning at a decent pace, so there’s plenty of room—plenty of time—for everyone to get used to working together.
I like Ray. I teased him about the cupcake, but I like his abilities and potential—if not yet entirely his current performance. No anxiety, though.
"Tom Lawson McCall, Governor or Oregon, invites you to visit . . . Washington, Idaho, Nevada, or Afghanistan." --Pair of bumper stickers on our baby blue 1966 Plymouth Fury III when I was growing up in Portland, BC (Before Championship).
Hold him accountable...
…probably wasn’t the best choice of phrase. More precisely, I’d say that while I’m all for continuing to give Raymond Felton “a break”, I do think there must be a point where you do start to evaluate his performance. And ultimately? The person most accountable for Raymond Feltons performance is Raymond Felton himself.
"Mother Nature started this fight, I think it's about time we ended it!"
I know after the whole Durant/Oden thing, Blazer fans aren't supposed to go there, but...
Andre Miller has been tearing it up.
He is playing for a coach that respects and trusts him.
Unfortunately, so is Jamal Crawford.
And Felton isnt'?
Nate gave Felton some amazing free reign at the start of the season. I don’t think you can blame Nate for pulling it back a little when Mr. Cupcake became Mr. Turnover.
I think the point is Nate's lack of trust and respect for Andre
as evidenced for the foolish trade for Felton in the first place, among other things.
give and inch, they will take a foot!
winning sovles all, losing points to Felly Belly.
Spears told Canzano last night “Nothing is wrong with Felly’s game, its his weight.”
Called it how he saw it.
Which IMHO is completely untrue at this point.
Last couple of games, I’ve been trying hard to get a good view of Raymond, and the jersey goes straight down. Of course he wears it a little loose, but he looks way, way better than he did in those grainy videos of the North Carolina pro-am he participated in. Looks way, way better than he did in the Rip City Challenge.
In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice they're not.
by conspirator5 on Jan 27, 2012 5:04 PM PST up reply actions
Not really 30 days, either.
30 days in the “regular season” but preseason started the 19th, so that would be 37 days since he was playing games with the team. He was with the team even earlier than that.
FIRE NATE!
Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!
It's not a new job -- he's still playing basketball for the NBA.
A more valid comparison is to other NBA players who switch teams from one season to the next. I’d guess Felton would fare pretty poorly in that comparison.
Felton doesn’t deserve a break. He gets paid $7 mil to play a game for a living, and he’s not professional enough to keep himself in decent shape.
Kinda tough to
argue with you. Really like this point:
He gets paid $7 mil to play a game for a living, and he’s not professional enough to keep himself in decent shape.So true.
Meaningless.
Human beings are still human beings no matter how much they get paid. Guys are in the NBA and getting paid at that level because they have been determined by scouts, coaches, and GMs to be one of the 450 best basketball players in the known world. Raymond Felton falls into that category. That list btw, has included such luminaries as Sergio Rodriguez, Michael Ruffin, Shavlik Randolph, and Earl Barron. They all made more money in their 20s than you will ever make in your life. They are all still regular human meatbags capable of a wide and colorful assortment of shortcomings and failures.
But you know I actually don’t disagree with byronirvin all that much. Because one thing Raymond Felton DOES get paid $7m a year for is to take meaningless abuse from fans. That’s in the job description for all these guys.
In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice they're not.
by conspirator5 on Jan 27, 2012 5:39 PM PST up reply actions
He's paid $7M to show up in shape ready to play.
Only someone without a work ethic would take the money and then show up out of shape on a day you are paid to work.
"You're not too smart, are you? I like that in a man." - Matty Walker in Body Heat (1981)
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Jan 27, 2012 6:00 PM PST up reply actions
conspirator
come on man taking verbal abuse ain’t that bad, especially when you get paid 7 million a year for it.
I know a guy on the free way exit in SE/NE portland that holds up a sign saying “Will take verbal abuse for $1.”
it's unreasonable to expect someone making only $7.6M to report to camp in shape.
Especially at his advanced age. Only young guys like Nash making $11.7M should be expected to be in shape.
"You're not too smart, are you? I like that in a man." - Matty Walker in Body Heat (1981)
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Jan 27, 2012 5:18 PM PST reply actions
It was a lost season right until it wasn't.
Until the new deal was signed, all those guys were unemployed. Well except for Delonte West. He had that sweet furniture company job. Whatever in-shape-ness they brought with them to training camp, it was on their own dime and time.
In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice they're not.
by conspirator5 on Jan 27, 2012 5:42 PM PST up reply actions
They didn't need to stay in shape because of the lockout? That's absurd.
They were under contract. They were guaranteed to be paid the moment they set foot in camp. They knew camp would be short. They shouldn’t have been paid anything if they showed up to camp out of shape until they were ready to fulfill their contracts by being in shape to play.
"You're not too smart, are you? I like that in a man." - Matty Walker in Body Heat (1981)
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Jan 27, 2012 5:50 PM PST up reply actions
I think when people have an unreasonable expectation of "in shape"
I never expected Ray to show up looking like Dwight Howard. He’s on the chubbier side of NBA players and looks fine to me.
Johnson, Johnson, Smith, Smith, Thomas, Williams, and Babbitt: the Blazer's law firm.
I remember when Andre Miller
came into camp his first year supposedly out of shape and badly beat out by Steve Blake in all the drills. However, That was quickly forgotten when the whole Roy can’t play with Miller thing rose it’s ugly head. Since Miller got the ‘Treatment’ why should Felton get a break?
Felton is shockingly inept
If Jarrett Jack had committed half the number of game-throwing bone-headed blunders as Felton, fans would have pelted him with tomatoes.
Why was Jack so reviled? Why is roly-poly Felton allowed to ruin our team?
Ok I changed my signature. Do you like it better now?
by scaredcow on Jan 27, 2012 6:29 PM PST via mobile reply actions
I can't believe anyone make the case that Felton isn't reviled
at least not on this board.
Johnson, Johnson, Smith, Smith, Thomas, Williams, and Babbitt: the Blazer's law firm.
well he wasn't on the team last year.
I can understand having trouble running the offense, everything else is troubling.
Most of this team is on probation, with expiring contracts...
Actually this whole season is a probationary one – not just for Felton but Wallace, Batum, & Crawford, Anyone else whose contracts expire at season’s end? For those of you who want to blow up this team mid season, keep your shirts on. This year’s team was constructed as a single season experiment to see if this combo has magic (with a small m). If they show enough, they’ll stay; if not, it’ll be a different team next year with lots of $$$ available.Not an unreasonable way to go in this strange lockout shortened season.
Felton has been neither as good as we had hoped, nor as bad as some fear. That’s why our record is decent – not great & not horrible, about what was predicted, at least so far. This team, and Felton, still has the opportunity to gel and turn into something special. Their ceiling is higher than their floor is low (injury to LA excepted).
Consider this a freebee season; anything beyond first round is amazing bonus.
"Felton has been neither as good as we had hoped, nor as bad as some fear."
I don’t know, man. I knew he would be worse than Miller, but he has been absolutely awful. I expected a downgrade from top-10 point guard to average point guard. But this is the worst Blazers point guard play I’ve seen in my 25 years following the team.
I'm thinkin
this sounds alot like the posts about Andre Miller a few years ago. He worked out pretty good after awhile.
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