A Bust? Evan Turner Delivers
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A Bust? Evan Turner Delivers
The best moment of last night's game was when Evan Turner threw down a dunk on a fastbreak. You probably remember the play, a toss out from Jrue Holiday and Turner checked over his left shoulder for LeBron James and then tossed in a two-handed slam in the open court. What was great about that play was Turner's reaction in the moment afterwards. You might have caught it, you might have missed it. Turner was on the rim, hanging for a split second, when LeBron cut slightly underneath him to grab the ball and take it out of bounds. LeBron's shoulder caught one of Turner's legs as he was coming down and it threw Turner, just a little bit, off balance. When Turner landed, he turned and looked at LeBron, tilting his head and raising his arms with a definite look of: What's that about? You're going to run under me on a dunk? Immediately, Turner let the look dissipate, probably because he saw that LeBron did not intend to run under him, perhaps because he instantly remembered who he was messing with.
It was only one second, but it reminded you that Evan Turner is legitimate. His swagger was, finally, on display last night. For 76ers fans who left the arena, or watched on TV, the best takeaway was Turner's performance. He played unlike anything we've seen through a month of preseason. It's too early to expect Turner to play like that every night, but there it was, against Dwyane Wade and LeBron, and you know it's in there and at some point down the line it might be there every night. The confidence, the ability to create, the effort on defense, the talent to get a shot -- and a good shot -- almost whenever he wants one.
If nothing else going forward, you can watch the Sixers just to see how Turner will play.
Here were a few other takeaways from last night:
*Jrue Holiday looked bad. There just isn't another way to put this: He was just really bad. Holiday didn't play well during the preseason, except for one really good game at the Toronto Raptors, but because he gained some experience last season there was an assumption that the preseason would matter little to Holiday's game. Guess that was a wrong assessment. At the start of the third quarter, Holiday didn't even look like he belonged on the court. His performance was made even worse when compared to Turner's. And it becomes especially glaring when, realistically, you consider that the two of them play the same position. (Although the Sixers would like to believe they can co-exist, which would be the dream-like scenario if it could happen.)
Couple Holiday with center Spencer Hawes, and the Sixers' starting lineup had two massive holes in it. When the game was being decided, through the third quarter, neither Holiday or Hawes had scored. And Holiday had five turnovers. Perhaps because it's the first game of the season, and because it's too early to truly lament the on-court absence of Samuel Dalembert (think you'd ever hear that?), the one good thing about Hawes is his passing ability. He did have a few nice dishes in the halfcourt, which is helpful for opening up the lanes. But other than that, he was basically non-existent. Which leads to the next point:
*The starting lineup did not look good enough. They make the team's second unit look like All-Stars, that's how unproductive the starters were last night and have been throughout the preseason. It's nice to have Turner, Lou Williams, Thaddeus Young, Andres Nocioni, and Marreese Speights scoring bunches of points off the bench, but what is that going to matter if the score is 80-54?
Realistically, though, there isn't a clear-cut answer to the problem. Doug Collins' starting unit makes a lot of sense, especially plugging Kapono into the lineup to spread the floor. A huge difference in last night's game was that Miami's shooter, James Jones, made all of his shots, while Kapono didn't. Don't expect to see the starting lineup change anytime soon. Against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, it'll still be Holiday, Andre Iguodala, Kapono, Elton Brand, and Hawes. Collins is going to have to trust that Holiday's game is much better than he showed, because if Holiday starts playing like we think he's capable, he'll provide the punch that was missing last night.
*Accountability. After the game, Brand said something that rang true; he said that Collins will put guys out there until he finds a unit that's willing to play hard for him. That's what he did all game on Wednesday night, just kept figuring out who would give him what he needed. Collins was willing to play Holiday limited minutes because Holiday wasn't doing what he needed. Collins isn't caught up in what Speights might be able to do on the offensive end, he read his body language and impact and he gave those minutes instead to Nocioni. Which was the right thing to do.
Friday's game against the Atlanta Hawks should be a more accurate reflection of where the Sixers are right now. Playing the Heat, who are in a strange place themselves at the moment, it was impossible to compare. Are the Heat monsters of the Eastern Conference right now, or a newly-assembled team trying to figure out how to play together? Did the Sixers lose by 10 to the best team in the NBA, or a team that, right now, would be beaten by any number of more-cohesive units. Atlanta is a little bit more stable and should provide a better barometer for how good the Sixers are at this early stage.
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--Kate
Each week, Kate will check in from the road and answer fan questions about the Sixers. Click here to ask Kate a question or e-mail her at kfagan@phillynews.com.
Evan Turner definitely made watching the sixers more enjoyable. hopefully he'll continue to impress. so far, so good. but hawes is soft! and we should start nocioni for now until Turner starts.
I agree with Doug Collins that too much emphasis is put on who starts. It really doesn't matter who takes the tip-off etc. It matters who plays the bulk of minutes, especially at the end of close games. With that said, I'd start Jrue, Turner, Dre, Thad, and Brand. Thaddeus's restored play will be a key to the Sixers' season, or at least that's my early prediction . . .— Leegles
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Well, yeah ... always good to see a young kid excel. But at some point, regardless of his production, if Turner can't effectively play the 2 "off ball", then the pick was a mistake (unless you can trade Holiday for the #2 pick in the draft).— Nutron
Why can't i leave a comment? Geez.— XmarksTheSpot
Elton Brand has set this franchise back by 5 years.- Sweet....aight finally I can give my insight into what transpired lastnight. First, told y'all not to worry about the kid. He's gonna be a stud & one of the best guards in the game. Bank on it. Second, no Kapono should not be starting. If you want a shooter to spread the floor, insert Noc. He can shoot and is a tougher defender than Kapono. It's not like Kapono is Thunder Dan or Rex Chapman. That shot should be coming off the bench for an offensive spark as Lou is. Hawes, I'll give him a few more games since he hasn't played in a few weeks but if he continues the same unispired play, start Thad at the 4 Brand at the 5 (it's small but what else are you gonna do). ET baby!— XmarksTheSpot
- XMarksTheSpot: don't like Brand at center; alternate Hawes and Battie, the former for offense, the latter for defense. Brand is a power forward who should start, with Young off the bench for now. Turner looked terrific and, once he gains confidence, will be a fine player in the league. Whether he can co-exist with Holiday remains to be seen. Like you, I prefer Nocioni to start, with Kapono and Williams providing firepower off the bench. Sixers desperately need a consistent three-point shooter who is not a complete cipher on defense. Speights looked dreadful and continues to regard the pass and defense as deadly weapons to be avoided. He will have a short leash with Collins. Interesting that Jodie Meeks was deactivated, given as well as he shot in the Summer League, but he is another guy whose defense is suspect. Iguodala still drives me nuts, consistent on the stat sheet, inconsistent on the court. Sixers have a puncher's chance against Atlanta tomorrow night.— chuckw
- There were times lastnight when Thad was the 5 lol. We need our best players out there. — XmarksTheSpot
- Our bigs are so soft. I can't see how our shooter are going to get any breathing room
- Is that Kyle Korver in the youtube link?— the sichee-ation
- Great video Kate - you seem to embrace every part of the job and we appreciate it!— FillyLife
- can you believe what they pay these aaas clowns?— sgamble077
- I haven't seen a bunch of incompetent losers thrown together since we had George W. Bush and his inner circle. Everytime you see or read about how bad the 76ers are, remember the incompetence of Bush and his Republican cronies and vote Democrat next Tuesday.
you obviously haven't looked inside the white house lately.— sgamble077 - Based on his birthday performance last night, ET is the real deal. Why not let ET and Jrue develop together as the starting backcourt? We put too much emphasis on "point guard" and "shooting guard." Back in the day, a team could be great with two great guards playing together. This terminology is relatively recent.
John Mitchell is in his second year covering the 76ers for the Inquirer after joining the paper in November 2011. He covered the Washington Wizards for the Washington Times from 1998 to 2008. He's also worked at the Philadelphia Tribune, the Wilmington News Journal, Courier-Post, Trenton Times and Elmira Star-Gazette.Born and raised in West Philadelphia - not too far from Will Smith - he graduated from Overbrook High School the same year the 76ers won their last championship. He's a proud graduate of Howard University and the proud father of two sons, Jared and Jordan.
ABOUT MARC NARDUCCI
Marc Narducci has served in a variety of roles with the Inquirer since beginning in 1983. He has covered the 76ers as a backup and a beat writer. In addition, Narducci has covered everything from the Super Bowl to the World Series and a lot in between. Narducci also has a true passion for South Jersey scholastic sports, which he has covered for many years.
