The Philadelphia 76ers have been missing Furkan Korkmaz since Dec. 27 when he suffered a left adductor strain that has kept him out now for 11 games. He was set to return on Sunday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but the game was then postponed due to contact tracing within the organization.
Korkmaz’s absence, as well as the absence of others, has opened the door for rookie Isaiah Joe to step in and earn some playing time and develop. Joe played well shooting 43.6% from deep while launching 7.8 attempts per game over five games and he showed that he can do other things on the floor as well like play solid defense.
With Korkmaz now set to return on Wednesday against the Boston Celtics, it now opens up questions about who plays. Does coach Doc Rivers go back to a proven player in Korkmaz or does he keep going with the hot hand in Joe who continues to show his value on the floor?
Rivers has said in the past that he is not afraid to tweak his rotation and go even deeper into his bench due to the talent the team has. So maybe there is a spot for both players.
“I’m not worried at all,” said Korkmaz on Tuesday. “I’m very happy for Isaiah, I think he’s played well as a rookie. For him to go in and contribute, it’s very good for him, but I’m not worried. I’m going to go out and play my game. Tomorrow against Boston, we’re both going to see.”
Korkmaz on his playing with the development of Isaiah Joe:
“Of course, I’m not worried at all. I’m very happy for Isaiah, I think he’s played well as a rookie. For him to go in and contribute, it’s very good for him. But, I’m not worried. I’m going to go out and play my game.
— Sergen (@sergenkumas) January 19, 2021
For Korkmaz, being out for such a long time has been tough for him. It is not fun watching your team battle while on the sidelines and being able to get back on the practice floor with his teammates on Tuesday was something special.
“It feels really good, super good,” he beamed. “Like finally, I’m going to be back on the court and play with the team again. We practiced today, it feels really good.”
Of course, there is always a question about whether Korkmaz can go 100% fully, but he is not concerned with that just yet. He feels confident in his game.
“Injuries take time, but I had a good workout last Friday,” he explained. “Then when we were on the road, I had another one, Sunday I was able to play 100 percentage, I’m ready to go. Today, I had also a good workout, yesterday was a good recovery day for me and then today, we had a hard one. I think I’m ready to go tomorrow.”
It will be interesting to see how Rivers will work out the team’s rotation beginning on Wednesday against the Celtics.
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