Jrue Holiday was drafted at age 19 three years ago to be the Sixers point guard for what the franchise hoped would be a long time.
Holidays NBA rsum is 205 games old with 183 starts. He is averaging 13.9 points and 4.4 assists per game this season, but over his last six contests he is averaging 18 points and five assists, shooting 47 percent from the floor.
His play has drawn his coachs admiration.
I believe in him implicitly, Doug Collins said after Tuesdays 103-85 win over the Cavaliers. I think he does a great job. I think he is going to continue to grow. He is 21 years old and more importantly, I am feeling closer to him.
When you are sitting in your office with the offensive coordinator and the quarterback, there is a bond. There is a bond between the quarterback and his coach that he is your guy and that you trust him and you believe in him, and just go out there and do what you have to do.
What more could a player want from his coach and vice versa?
Nothing, unless you heard Collins talk about a different point guard just three weeks ago.
Evans (Turner) a point guard. At the end of the day, Evans a point guard.
Those were Collins words on the heels of the Sixers beating the Celtics on March 7, when Turner scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Holiday did not hear those comments, nor is he threatened by them.
Evan is a point guard. Dres (Iguodala) a point guard too, Holiday said. There are a lot of guys on this team that are point guards but can play multiple positions. I can be both. The first time we played Boston, Evan had a really good game and he had the ball coming up the court, making decisions, doing all that, and I just came off screens and kind of roamed and tried to get to open places.
That is what Evan does. He did that all the time in college and that is why he was Player of the Year in college. The second time we played Boston, Dre came out and was the aggressor and we won that game. I think we are all really good players and we are all really smart players, so we can read off of each other really well.
The Sixers are slowly but surely proving to be OK with the clubs unconventional perimeter style. Iguodalas play would say hes on board and we know the quarterback Holiday in, while Turner seems to be working toward acceptance.
In his last two games, Turner has shot a combined 11 of 24 from the floor for 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
Of course, the only outcome that matters is if the three-man weave produces winning on a consistent basis.
E-mail Dei Lynam at dlynam@comcastsportsnet.com.