New York Knicks Need a Bigger Contribution From Steve Novak

Steve Novak is the New York Knicks‘ sharpshooter but recently he has been nowhere to be found.

The Knicks offense has done well without him being much involved but it figures to be a lot more potent if Novak can get some more touches. Novak has four or fewer shot attempts in seven of the past nine Knicks games and that is something that has to change, not only for his sake but for the team’s sake.

Head coach Mike Woodson is aware of the lack of touches by Novak and he plans on doing some thing about it. After their practice on Tuesday, Woodson spoke about the issue and stated that he is trying to come up with ways for Novak to get more involved. One of the ways that Novak can become more involved in the offense is not through more plays drawn up by Woodson, rather with the return of point guard Raymond Felton.

Felton, who has been out of the lineup for the past five weeks due to a fractured pinkie, is expected to come back sometime this week. Novak will benefit from Felton’s return probably more than any other player simply due to Felton’s unique ability to set him up with wide open shots. In the games where Felton has been on the floor with him, Novak is shooting 50 percent from the field compared to just 36 percent when Felton hasn’t been in the game. Furthermore, Novak is shooting over 53 percent from three-point land when Felton is on the floor but just 40 percent when he’s not.

It’s easy to see that Novak plays better when Felton is on the floor and with his return it’s safe to assume that both Novak and the Knicks will benefit.