Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Posted: 12:53 a.m.
By Dei Lynam
CSNPhilly.com
BOSTONWhen it comes to Evan Turner and his ability to be productive, it really is as simple as Doug Collins has been sayinghe needs the ball in his hands.
I dont know a lot, Doug Collins said after the game. But I do know what players strengths and weaknesses are. Evan is really, really good when he has the ball in his hands.
It definitely helps, Turner concurred. I was able to get a rhythm. Tonight I was able to come off ball screens and be able to run in transition and stuff like that.
With Lou Williams missing his first full game with a right hamstring strain, Turner, along with Thaddeus Young, was the first guy called off the bench with 4:01 to go in the first quarter against the Celtics.
He had an immediate impact. Turner played 13 minutes in the first half, scored nine points, grabbed a couple of rebounds and distributed a handful of assists. He helped the Sixers stay within striking distance against a Celtics team that shot 56 percent from the floor to lead 54-50 at the break.
NBA
Turner built on that performance in the second half, when despite the Sixers shooting a dismal 12-for-42 as a team, he connected on 5 of 8 shots before finishing with a team-high 21 points in the Sixers 99-82 loss.
In addition to his offense, Turner was active defensively. He said solid defense came from being put in a position to succeed.
Coach Curry looked at game tape and said I am better on the ball, so he put me in situations to be on the ball as opposed to off the ball where I am chasing around shooters, Turner said. It definitely helped.
No matter which end of the floor hes on, it seems Turner is better when hes near the ball.
Fans who see the potential in the No. 2 overall pick might think, Just give him the ball, but on this team its not that simple.
It is nothing he has done, Collins said of Turners reduced minutes of late and the way he has been used when he does play. But we have Jrue (Holiday) and Lou and Andre (Iguodala) and it is hard to have that fourth guy with the ball in his hands.
Tonight we put the ball in his hands a lot. He was aggressive. He attacked. He played great. I was proud of him, I mean he was terrific, Collins said.
I had a pretty good practice yesterday, Turner said. I was able to get up and down. The last couple weeks I have been doing drills with the assistant coachestwo-on-two drills and one-on-one drills and I was able to get a good rhythm from there. You play how you practice, so I definitely had confidence that I had the firepower to come in and play well tonight.
Turner played to his strengths, which are different than the strengths of Williams. Tonights statistics would say its an even swap, when in fact it is a different swap.
We miss Lou in the open court, the coach said. We miss his speed. Evan is a better half court player in a lot of situations like he can post up. But Lou gives you that quick strike, he and Thad off the bench. He has that potential to shoot the three-ball. He can play that screen-and-role game for us, so we are going to have to adjust to that because he also helps us in the fast break. We miss him in that open court.
The new guy
Newcomer Antonio Daniels saw minutes as promised and felt good despite having spent a total of one hour on the court with his teammates before seeing real game action. Collins liked what he saw out of Daniels first 9minutes of action as a Sixer.
The thing I liked, he was talking to Jrue a lot, he said. He has 13 years experience and one thing I love is when my players help each other out. It is a great learning curve and Jrue is so receptive to that.
They made me feel comfortable, Daniels said of his own play. Guys were talking me through things and helping me through things. I watched some film this afternoon, looking at plays and what they are looking for in certain situations but chemistry comes with playing with guys, knowing where guys like the ball, where they want to score but I feel good.
Daniels has been around long enough to know that guys in this league arent just picky about where they get the ballplayers are also very particular with what name they are called.
No one wants to be called by their real name, Daniels said with a smile. There was one play today where Andre threw a nice pass to somebody and I was on the sideline and yelled thats a heck of a pass Iguodala. Mo (Speights) turned to me and said just call him Dre!
The learning curve never ends no matter who you are or what your age.
E-mail Dei Lynam at dlynam@comcastsportsnet.com
Related: Sixers fade in second half of loss to CelticsBuy Sixers gear