Derrick Favors and Evan Turner are the two marquee draft picks playing in the Orlando Summer League, and they have both struggled in their first three games.  With Favors, you can understand his struggles since he is only 18 and still learning how to use his body.  Turner though, well that’s a little bit more of a mystery.  Turner, was the most experienced and pro ready prospect coming out of the draft, so he was expected to have a good summer league.  It’s been quite the opposite however, and it leaves me to ask the following question.  Should the Sixers be worried about this performance?

No, They Shouldn’t Be Worried

Not A Ton Of Touches

During Summer League, you usually have some young guys who have been in the NBA a year or two trying to be “Summer League Heroes.”  Taking a ton of shots and trying to get their numbers up.  On the Sixers, these Summer League Heroes have been Jrue Holiday, Jodie Meeks, and Marreese Speights.  This summer, Meeks has gotten up 12.3 shots, while Holiday has put up 12.6, and Speights has taken 14 shots a game.  Meanwhile, Evan Turner has only gotten 7.6 shots a game.  Not only that, but it seems that Turner’s teammates miss him when he is open every once in a while:

Here, Turner is spotting up, but after Speights makes the catch, he makes no attempt to get the basketball to anyone and just jacks up a shot. Sixers’ fans can rest easy knowing that Evan Turner will be getting more touches during the regular season.

High Basketball IQ

Even when struggling, you can see that Evan Turner is a smart basketball player. When working in open areas, Turner more often than not have been making the correct plays:

Here, Turner gets the rebound and pushes the ball up court. He changes direction twice, turning his defender around and allowing him to get to the rim with ease.

And here, Turner does a good job of making the catch and taking a dribble right to the rim. This forces the defense to rotate, and Evan Turner then does a good job of hitting the open man.

And finally here, Evan Turner gets himself to a scoring position, but finds himself facing Derrick Favors.  Turner doesn’t panic and pump fakes, getting Favors in the air and drawing the foul.

Yes, They Should Be Worried

What should really scare the Sixers is the lack of speed Evan Turner is showing off of the dribble.  In his first three games during Summer League, Evan Turner has been unable to get the ball on the wing and just drive by his man.  As a result, Evan Turner has been making two big mistakes during his games:

Taking Too Many Dribbles

The fact that Evan Turner can’t put his head down and drive by anyone forces him to take too many dribbles when trying to find offensive lanes:

On this play, Evan Turner holds the ball for the entire Sixers’ possession while taking 24 dribbles before getting a shot up. Watching this play, it looks like Turner wants to go by his defender, but just can’t and he settles for the fade away jumper.

Again, Turner is just really struggling to go past his man. He takes too many dribbles to decide what he wants to do, and eventually has to kick it out. However, Turner spent so much time dribbling, that he kicks it out with just 4 seconds left on the shot clock, forcing his teammate to take a tough three pointer.

These last two clips again show Turner’s inability to drive past his man. The result is one tough jumper (on which he is bailed out by getting fouled) and one time being forced to pass the ball off.

Fade Aways And Turn Arounds

The second problem caused by Evan Turner’s inability to drive past anyone is that he is being forced to settle for fade-away and turn around jumpers instead of finishing at the rim:

Here, Evan Turner gets the pass and takes two dribbles. However, his defender is still on him, so Turner is forced to take a step back jumper. Step back/Fall Away Jumpers are hard to make, and if Evan Turner is going to rely on these type of shots to get his points it is going to be tough for him to score.

Here, Evan Turner tries a little hesitation dribble to get by his man, but it doesn’t work and his defender is right there with him. The result is Evan Turner trying to dip his shoulder into his man to create space and take the jumper. He gets called for the offensive foul.

Finally, Evan Turner makes the catch on the elbow takes two dribbles, but is unable to get by his man. Turner is forced to turn his back to him and take a turn around jumper while falling away. If you have been reading this site for a little while, this shot may look familiar to you. This is because is something he has been doing in college (but been getting away with it because he was taller than his defenders).

My Opinion

My opinion is that the Sixers should be worried about Evan Turner’s poor play here.  Evan Turner isn’t just missing open shots or just looking rusty.  He can’t drive by anyone, and that is troublesome and leads to the poor shot selection we have seen so far from him.  His supporters are going to say, “This is just summer league” but that can also be turned around.  If he can’t dribble past Summer League defenders, what is he going to do during regular season games against NBA defenders?  His shot isn’t good enough to the point where he can use that to help get past defenders.

All that being said, Turner still is showing his basketball smarts out there, but is his smarts alone enough to help him be successful in the pros?