Immediately following the Philadelphia 76ers final NBA Summer League game in Orlando, FL I received phone calls, text messages and a few emails saying how mediocre Evan Turner looked. Almost everyone talked about how Turner appeared to be slow and how they thought he would be able to shoot better.
But we shouldn’t be too worried about Turner. Don’t get me wrong it would’ve been great if Turner was the star of the league so that Sixers fans could chill out.  But that’s not the case. Turner averaged 9.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game down in Orlando.
However in my eyes it wasn’t all bad for Turner in Orlando. He showed great court vision at times and was able to penetrate and create opportunities for his teammates. He showed that even when he is struggling from the field he is still able to contribute. His lack of a jump shot did raise an eyebrow or two, but I blamed it on his nerves.
Regardless by the time the regular season starts, Turner should be more comfortable out there on the floor. With wing players like Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young running the floor and filling the lanes, Turner will have a lot of assist opportunities. That alone should allow him to calm down fast.
Hopefully Marreese Speights will be able to knock down a few 15-foot jumpers, which will also make it easier for Turner in the long run. Speights put up some impressive numbers (12.7 points and 9 rebounds) and appears to be getting close to his form before his knee inury. The Sixers need for Speights to be an important part of the teams success in the 2010-11 season.
Although all eyes were supposed to be on Turner, they quickly began to focus on Jrue Holiday. Holliday by far was a star in Orlando averaging 19.3 points (led the league), 6 assist and 1.7 steals per game. He also was named to the 2010 AirTran Airways All-Summer League First Team.
He looked bigger and more confident on the floor. Yeah I know the talent in Orlando was nowhere close to the level in the NBA, but he chose to kill them instead of playing down to their level. If Holiday can play half as good as he did in Orlando he will make this Sixers team fun to watch.
Holiday was not the only Sixer to receive some recognition for his play in Orlando. Jodie Meeks was named to the Summer League Second team. Meeks was second on the team in scoring (14.6) and showcased his ability to drill the three-point shot. In a game against the Charlotte Bobcats he knocked down four three-pointers. With guys like Meeks and Jason Kapono the Sixers now become a team with a couple deep weapons, something they lacked last season.
Sixer fans wanted to see a star emerge on the team in Orlando and that’s exactly what happened. However not many expected that player to be Holiday. Nevertheless there is no need to push the panic button on Turner. Give the kid some time to adapt and get his feet wet before you make a fair assessment. Enjoy the bright spots on the team and get ready for some exciting basketball in Philadelphia for the next couple of years.
i guess lou will is a superstar check out his summer league avg’s
listen summer league i have no clue what it means derrick rose stunk up the summer league rookie yr but won rookie of the yr. like i said last yr lou will avgd 35 ppg in summer league and apparantly he is bench meat
hey every1 loves jrue blah blah blah but just remember who told yall first
whether yall like it or not eric snow avg’d 12 and 7 in 2001 and 13 and 6 in 2002 these r the numbers u guys can expect from ur sacred cow pg
john wall 26 and 8 ast last night 8 to’s as well but 1st game for the people that were talkin that evan turner best player in college nonsense please stop lol wall was and is the best from that college class hands down on a bad night 26 and 8 not 9.4 lol but i still like turner i actually like turner more as a pg they need to think about that his game really reminds me of penny hardaway
E Turner reminds me of a young Kendall Gill/Anafree Hardaway/Tracey McGrady type
Where J Holiday reminds me of the current Darren Collison/ Ronnie Price/Elliot WIlliams type and just is not strong physically enough to play well at the NBA level…
i really like turner at pg wish iggy could play the 2 my god iggy do something during ur offseason get better wtf
Iggy is a great athlete, but just not a very good baskeball player as far as shooting the rock goes
It he hasn’t improved his shooting by now (after 5 years, he most likely won’t)
Wonder if he could play Safety for the Eagles.. He’s big,strong and athletic enough it appears..
I just don’t think Iggy works and practices on his outside shooting enough..It’s shame too..
clearly he’d be a great saftey or a brandon marshallesque vince jacks type wr
he has improved his jumper since rookie yr the problem is he has to much confidence in a streaky jumshot and if he would understand his range he’d be even better he shoots way to many 3’s 18 to 20 ft he aint that bad
he watches to much kobe he wants to make shots in ppls face all the time get a good shot ur not ai or kobe
I don’t even think Iggy has anything more than an average “Jump Shot” at best..
It’s obvious he has not perfected the shooting motion after being a high draft pick or has worked oe it enough or received proper coaching.. but being in the NBA for 5 years and making the kind of $$$ he
does, It’s an embarrasment to the team and himself that he shots the % that he does…
yes i agree but if we know this then y doesnt he
thats the problem i have i agree he should have worked on it or what have u and he probably is but understand ur role if ur a slasher slash stop hoising 10 jumpers a game and u make 2
derrick rose lbj rudy gay guys who dont shoot as well as maybe some other guys in the league but they r still bigtime scorers
shoot ai wasnt the best shooter but he attacked the rim relentlessly imagine if ai was iggy size cmon ai learn form ai