One thing coaches take into account that fans often don’t is the impact of a new player on a team, such as the impact Amar’e Stoudemire and Raymond Felton are having on the New York Knicks. Stoudemire’s success is not unexpected, and while he is currently ranked third among Eastern Conference forwards in the balloting process there is still a very good chance he could be voted in as a starter. Felton, on the other hand, is not even in the top ten vote-getters among Eastern Conference guards, but he is precisely the kind of player head coaches might chooses as a reserve when their time to choose comes around.

Felton was really somewhat of a consolation prize for the Knicks this summer after they swung and missed on the majority of the big-name free agents. There were doubts about whether or not Felton could run the Mike D’Antoni offense, which was designed around the multi-faceted game of Steve Nash in Phoenix. So far, however, Felton is surprising his critics.

After struggling with the offense early, managing just 16.0 points and 5.7 assists in the Knicks first three games, Felton has been getting into the groove. In 16 games in November he averaged 18.6 points and 8.6 assists, and through seven games in December he’s been even better, posting averages of 19.9 points and 11.1 assists. If Felton continues on this pace he might just find himself in the All-Star game . . .he might even be a candidate for Most Improved Player.

The Knicks are off to their best start in years, and the obvious reason for that is the play of Amar’e Stoudemire and Raymond Felton. Stoudemire will almost certainly get an All-Star nod, voted in by the fans or not, but at this rate Felton is making a very strong case that the coaches should add him to the team, as well.

Blazers Notebook

The Portland Trail Blazers were in Dallas on Wednesday night, and while they ultimately lost to the Mavericks 96-103, the game illustrated some of the issues facing the team right now.

First and foremost, there is definitely something wrong with Brandon Roy, and it’s not just physical. Give him full marks for playing through the injuries and pain he’s experiencing right now, but Roy looks like he’s afraid to engage, much as Tom Cruise’s character "Maverick" in the movie Top Gun was afraid to engage the enemy after he lost his partner in a flight accident. After the game, Blazers head coach Nate McMillan said he was considering shutting Roy down for a while. Moments later Roy himself brushed aside such talk, though he admitted the only way to get through his current issue is to rest. Again, you can’t help but admire Roy’s determination to be there for his team in an era where multi-million-dollar athletes miss games with minor injuries everyone else in the workforce works through. At the same time, it’s awfully hard to watch Roy try to play, to wait with baited breath for one of those amazing Brandon Roy plays, only to have him pass the ball and stand in the background of the important offensive plays.

Second, LaMarcus Aldridge has made some strides this season, but in Dallas he was an absolute beast in what McMillan called his best game of the season. Aldridge was on the attack, especially in the second half, making strong, aggressive moves, going right at Dirk Nowitzki in the post, and finishing with 35 points and 10 rebounds.

"Well, we need that," said McMillan. "We need that from him. I thought early he passed up some opportunities to go, and he got aggressive. And, really, we played through him pretty much the 2nd half. That type of fight, physical play, establishing that post position is what we need from him nightly and I thought he did a hell of job tonight down in the post for us."

It helped Aldridge that Roy, knowing he couldn’t do his usual work, gave him his vote of confidence . . .and the ball . . .in the fourth quarter.

"I went through a tough stretch in the third where I couldn’t make two free throws," said Aldridge. "My teammates kept telling me to keep shooting. In the fourth, Brandon checked in and said, ‘I’m coming to you.’ So when your star player says I’m going to come to you you’ve got to try to bring something to the table because if he’s deferring to me then he must see something is there. Once he said that I got a little more confident and started playing better."

For Joel Przybilla, returning to Dallas was like returning to the scene of a major accident. Last year he suffered a season-ended knee injury when he was in Dallas, and his teammates were telling him he should fake an injury to avoid returning to the court where he was hurt so badly. The unflappable Przybilla, though, told them before the game that he had to face his demons, and the Dallas Mavericks’ home court was one such demon. Przybilla, who is still working his way back to full strength after the injury, logged five minutes without incident. Demon conquered.

Blazers point guard Andre Miller also had a memorable game in Dallas last season, though for a very different reason. He torched Jason Kidd and the Mavs for a career-high 52 points last year, but on Wednesday night he managed just nine points on 4-6 shooting. It’s a testament to how much better the Mavericks are on the defensive end of the floor in 2010-11.

Finally, a players-only meeting isn’t exactly headlines news in professional sports. Nearly every team has one at some point during a give season, and for the Blazers theirs time came after a six-game losing streak and before a three-game homestand earlier this month. The rumor was that McMillan had lost the team, though that rumor stemmed from a quote taken out of context rather than any rift between the head coach and his players. In that meeting, the players called out each other to all step up and support not just McMillan, but also injured leader Brandon Roy. The team then ran off four wins in a row, including two over Phoenix and one of the Orlando Magic, but have now lost three in a row again, but two of those were against the top two teams in the Western Conference. Players-only meetings can help, but the only thing that would really help the Blazers now would be for Roy to have a miraculous recovery with his knee. Unfortunately, that seems unlikely.

{AUTHOR_BOX}First All-Star Returns Announced

This afternoon the NBA announced the results of the first round of All-Star balloting, and here are the official numbers to date:

2011 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING EASTERN CONFERENCE 

Forwards: LeBron James (Mia) 607,994; Kevin Garnett (Bos) 456,111; Amar’e Stoudemire (NYK) 327,626 Paul Pierce (Bos) 235,107; Chris Bosh (Mia) 161,801; Josh Smith (Atl) 104,713; Carlos Boozer (Chi) 82,655; Andre Iguodala (Phi) 71,517; Danny Granger (Ind) 66,759; Luol Deng (Chi) 52,398. 

Guards: Dwyane Wade (Mia) 570,489; Rajon Rondo (Bos) 497,141; Derrick Rose (Chi) 424,356; Ray Allen (Bos) 235,977; John Wall (Was) 120,284; Vince Carter (Orl) 117,628; Gilbert Arenas (Was) 88,599; Brandon Jennings (Mil) 65,705; Joe Johnson (Atl) 46,811; Jamal Crawford (Atl) 31,524. 

Centers: Dwight Howard (Orl) 611,561; Shaquille O’Neal (Bos) 241,782; Joakim Noah (Chi) 97,163; Andrea Bargnani (Tor) 53,275; Al Horford (Atl) 49,098; Andrew Bogut (Mil) 48,298; Brook Lopez (NJ) 38,103; JaVale McGee (Was) 36,227; Roy Hibbert (Ind) 35,006; Ben Wallace (Det) 21,858. 

2011 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING WESTERN CONFERENCE 

Forwards: Kevin Durant (OKC) 470,881; Pau Gasol (LAL) 390,808; Carmelo Anthony (Den) 369,768; Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 264,301; Tim Duncan (SA) 247,364; Blake Griffin (LAC) 245,167; Lamar Odom (LAL) 134,594; Luis Scola (Hou) 119,901; Caron Butler (Dal) 96,785; Kevin Love (Min) 81,865.

Guards: Kobe Bryant (LAL) 722,682; Chris Paul (NO) 386,649; Manu Ginobili (SA) 230,137; Steve Nash (Pho) 190,226; Deron Williams (Utah) 184,148; Jason Kidd (Dal) 141,283; Russell Westbrook (OKC) 140,519; Eric Gordon (LAC) 113,510; Tony Parker (SA) 103,238, Derek Fisher (LAL) 81,088.