Raymond Felton conditioning and shooting but not cleared for contact

Raymond Felton could return to full contact practices by the end of the week. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

The Knicks are slowly regaining full strength to their backcourt. Starting point guard Raymond Felton could return to the lineup by the end of the week now that he appears to be at the tail end of his rehab for a fractured pinkie that he suffered on Christmas against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Felton was seen Tuesday at the Knicks practice facility conditioning and shooting.  According to tweets Tuesday afternoon from Newsday reporter Al Iannazzone and Nate Taylor of the New York Times, he could be cleared for full contact drills later this week and has been shooting the ball during workouts despite having his pinkie and ring finger taped together. In an earlier ESPN report from Jared Zwerling, Felton has been targeting a Jan. 26 game against the Philadelphia 76ers to come back.

Felton's return will mark the first time this season that he and Iman Shumpert will share a backcourt. Shumpert had been out with a knee injury suffered against the Miami Heat in the playoffs last season and made his season debut earlier in January. Backup point guard Pablo Prigioni, the Knicks' 35 year old rookie point guard, did not practice with the team on Tuesday and remains out with a big toe injury.

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