Sunday, May 15, 2011
Posted: 10 a.m.
By Dei Lynam
CSNPhilly.com
This is the second part of Sizing up the Sixers, a position-by-position look at the team. Part one took a look at point guard. Up next: Small forward on Tuesday.
The infamous shooting guard position seems to be a sore subject year after year with the Sixers. When was the last time they had a legitimate two guard that could knock down jumpers without hesitation? Was it Hersey Hawkins? It certainly wasnt Allen Iverson, who was a two-guard trapped in a point guards body. That, coupled with the fact that Iverson for his career was just a 41 percent shooter, takes The Answer out of the running.
Hawkins, on the other hand, in his 13-year career, shot 46 percent from the field and 39 percent from three-point range. He was a guy who could run off a screen and catch and shoota dying talent in this day and age. Hawkins last sported a Sixers uniform in 1993.
This past season, Doug Collins discovered he had a shooter in his gym that could do the catch and shoot, but it took him a little time to realize that second-year player Jodie Meeks was worthy of being in his starting lineup. Meeks was inactive for the first six games of the season but after joining the starting lineup on Dec. 3 in Atlanta, the University of Kentucky product never left.
Meeks made 64 starts, shooting 40 percent from behind the arc and 89 percent from the foul line. His 138 three-pointers were the 14th most in the NBA.
NBA
There are names on that list that many would swap Meeks for if possibleRay Allen, Kevin Martin, Monta Ellis, Danny Granger, Dorrell Wright, Stephen Curry, Wesley Mathews and Jason Richardson. All those players made at least 135 threes on the season but their point total surpassed Meeks by 500 or more points.
Meeks defense improved significantly over the course of the season. He is listed at 6-foot-4, but there were times when the oppositions counter piece was able to shoot right over him.
Meeks averaged 10.5 points and 28 minutes. If he could average the same points in fewer minutes coming off the bench, Sixers fans would probably appreciate him more. What would be a shame is if Meeks ended up elsewhere like Bruce Bowen and Raja Bell did. Both Bowen and Bell blossomed into legitimate NBA starters, not to mention a lock down defenders, but couldnt sniff playing time under Larry Brown.
Players do develop at the NBA level despite the popular belief otherwise. Meeks will continue to grow as a basketball player and one can only hope that Evan Turner will do the same.
Turner is supposed to be the shooting guard of this franchises near future. The problem is the Sixers selected a talented guard who cant shoot. The No. 2 overall pick from the 2010 NBA draft shot 43 percent from the field during his rookie season and he made 14 of 44 threes. Three-point shooting was not Turners forte in his three years at Ohio State, where he connected on 54 in his career. And his 50 percent career field-goal percentage as a Buckeye was a result of him getting to the basket more times, not pulling up for mid-range jumpers.
The good news about Turner is that he has size (6-7), he can defend, and he can rebound. If he commits to getting a shooting coach this summer as he said he would, Turner could make a huge jump in his sophomore season. Ultimately, Turner should supplant Meeks as the backcourt starter alongside Jrue Holiday.
In three of Turners five playoff games he showed great promise. In Game 2 against Miami he was the lone Sixer who shot the ball well. He was 6 for 10, finishing with 15 points and six rebounds. In Game 4, he endeared himself to an Easter Sunday home crowd when he played 27 minutes, scored 17 points, including a clutch baseline jumper with 1:22 to play ending a 5:13 Sixers drought without a field goal. That basket began a 10-0 run that closed out the game, the Sixers' lone win in the series.
In his final appearance of the season, Turner did not shoot the ball well (2 for 10), which may have been a blessing, reminding him that while his future is bright he can only go so far without changing his shooting mechanics. He did grab 10 rebounds in Game 5, tying Andre Iguodala for team high honors.
To say that Turner had a modest start to his NBA career is generous. But his jump from his first year to his second in college was drastic. He went from averaging 8.5 points to 17.3 and his rebounding jumped from 4.4 a game to 7.1.
The Sixers are counting on that same kind of improvement at the pro level.
On Tuesday we will look at the small forward position. Andre Iguodala has a lock on that starting spot -- but for how long?
E-mail Dei Lynam at dlynam@comcastsportsnet.com
Related: Sizing up the Sixers: Point guardIguodala plays D, eats vegetables ... always has