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| Felton will miss 4 to 6 weeks with a broken finger. (Getty Images) |
After injuring his finger on Christmas against the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks point guard Raymond Felton will avoid surgery but will miss about a month of action on the court.
No surgery for Raymond Felton. Out 4 to 6 weeks
— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) December 28, 2012
Felton injured his finger going for a loose ball against Steve Nash during the third quarter of the Knicks' 100-94 loss to the Lakers on Tuesday. You can tell it's serious because Felton made comments about not missing the rest of the season because of the injured pinky finger. Here's the play that resulted in the fracture:
With Felton missing the next four to six weeks, the Knicks will rely heavily on Jason Kidd and Pablo Prigioni to carry the load at the point guard position. You can also assume Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith will also be asked to carry a lot of the playmaking duties within the flow of the offense.
The Knicks' defense has suffered with Felton on the floor this season, jumping from a defensive rating of 96.7 with him off the court to a 105.0 when he's playing. However, the offense is pumping out 111.9 points per 100 possessions when he's on the floor, as opposed to 103.1 when he's out of the game. His pick-and-roll ability has led to fantastic ball movement around the perimeter when he's in the game.
New York will have to find a way to make up for the threat Felton poses to opposing teams by figuring out how to keep its offensive attack relentless while its starting point guard misses the next month or so.
