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Setting Turner on a routine

THE RELATIONSHIP between 76ers coach Doug Collins and second-year guard Evan Turner is not a strained one. There is no personal animosity, no grudges held.

"Evan is a guy who needs a lot of structure, and I mean that in a positive way," said Doug Collins. (Ron Cortes/Staff Photographer)
"Evan is a guy who needs a lot of structure, and I mean that in a positive way," said Doug Collins. (Ron Cortes/Staff Photographer)Read more

THE RELATIONSHIP between 76ers coach Doug Collins and second-year guard Evan Turner is not a strained one. There is no personal animosity, no grudges held.

Has the coach been as complimentary about Turner as he has other players? Probably not. Has Turner been in his coach's doghouse more than most other players? Probably.

But it appears it is all part of the teaching process Collins believes Turner needs in order to become the best NBA player he can be.

In order for that to happen, Collins is convinced Turner needs structure, so he and associate head coach Michael Curry have taken to providing that recently.

"Evan is a guy who needs a lot of structure, and I mean that in a positive way," Collins said. "He needs a schedule and Michael Curry has been meeting with him every day and Jesse [Wright], our strength and conditioning coach, and they do 30 minutes or 25 minutes every single day where we get him into a routine and I think that's really helped him. Evan needs that.

"I was reading this book about Tiger Woods the other day and [Tiger's father] Earl Woods had said about Tiger that you could teach Tiger any kind of swing, he could do that, but he needs structure. I've been around some of the greatest players to ever play the game and every one of them you could set your watch by. They never got off their routine, they did the same thing. Michael Jordan ate the same meal every night and at 4:30 he would be fully dressed, put his shirt and tie on and get on the bus and go to the game. You watch him in the locker room before the game and 45 minutes before the light switch would go on, he would know what he had to do. I think Evan's a guy that when he really grasps that, you're going to see him take off even further."

The lessons in routine appear to be working, at least they did before Wednesday night's 2-for-10, four-point performance in the loss to Toronto. Turner poured in 26 points in Tuesday's loss in Miami, the fifth straight game in which he scored in double figures. He is more involved at both ends of the floor and has become somewhat of a go-to guy when the team needs a basket.

"[Tuesday] I thought was his best game since the Knicks," Collins said, referring to a March 11 win at the Knicks in which Turner scored 24 points. "He'd been playing very well, but I thought he was very sharp offensively.

"He's working in the right direction and that's the most important thing. He's shown a lot of growth from where he was last year to where he is this year. Being around him, he's got a lot of leadership qualities. He likes to speak up, and I like that."

Iguodala a go

Despite a left eye that was severely bloodshot from a poke he absorbed Tuesday night, forward Andre Iguodala was in the starting lineup against the Toronto Raptors, wearing specialty glasses to protect the eye.

"I think [head trainer] Kevin Johnson had been out and around all day getting goggles," Collins said. "[Iguodala] didn't like the one goggles they had, the sports goggles, so they got him some glasses that he's going to play in."

As Miami guard Mario Chalmers ran past Iguodala on Tuesday night, he tried to reach up and swipe the ball from Iguodala, who had the ball secured over his head. Chalmers' finger went into Iguodala's eye and scratched his face next to it. After the game, Iguodala said he had a headache for about 10 minutes and very blurred vision. He said that as time wore on, the eye got a little better.

Iguodala played 36 minutes against Toronto, but shot just 2-for-6 and scored six points.