76ers first round draft pick Evan Turner hasn’t been on a basketball court playing five on five basketball for over a month and it’s starting to show.¬† The kid’s legs have deserted him.
Second year point guard Jrue Holiday was dominating last night with 25 points while Turner could score only four points in 27 minutes last night.
Bob Cooney of Philly.com talked to 76ers GM Ed Stefanski and Coach Doug Collins after the game and they weren’t disappointed by the early struggles of Turner.
“Nothing has surprised me,” Stefanski said. “I think Evan is just trying to figure out the whole thing, from how the NBA game works, from the officials to the defense and things like that. Last year, Jrue Holiday went through the same thing. Jrue was struggling getting by people and now people just can’t stay in front of him. The same thing Jrue went through last year, Evan is going through now.”
The Sixers brain trust realize that their top draft pick isn’t in peak physical condition.¬† Any knowledgeable basketball executive or fan knows that you can shoot the ball well without your legs.
“You’ve got to play with a motor,” Collins said. “When we get Evan where we want to get him in shape, he’ll start playing with that motor that you have to have. You’re playing a high-energy position. Right now, you can see the angst is there. Anybody who has played in this league has had to go through it. He’ll grow from it and he’s going to be fine. I’m glad it’s happening now because he’s got time to do something about it. He’s got about 90 good days [until training camp] to get himself in the kind of shape that he needs to be in to play for us and do what we need him to do.”
“I don’t think he’s in game condition,” Stefanski said. “He hasn’t played a game in a long time and now we’ve played three games in 3 days. Before that, he really hadn’t played at all since Ohio State lost in the (NCAA) tournament [on March 26]. And it’s not his fault. With him predicted to be such a high pick [his handlers] shut him down [to prevent injury]. You can work out all you want, [but] unless you play five-on-five you’re not going to get there. I think he’s definitely been hurt by that.
I think their points are legitimate because you can’t play quality basketball without being in shape.¬† Add to that some nervousness from playing in the NBA for the first time and you can see why Turner was struggling.
Maybe the Sixers should trade Turner back home to the Cavs for C Shaquille O’Neil…
(since Lebon is leaving Ohio) Good Grief…
i wouldnt make to much of summer league lou will avg’d like 35 + a yr a or 2 ago maurice speights was a manchild
and apparantly they r just backups
still not a huge jrue fan but like the fact that he is scoring in summer league at least
though like i said be4 his numbers will be very similar to that of eric snow 12 and 6 e snow numbers