Philadelphia 76ers guard Furkan Korkmaz was certainly going through it. The fourth-year guard from Turkey had been miserable over the previous six games shooting just 0.63% from deep on 2.7 attempts. He just could not buy a bucket for anything.
However, on Tuesday night, coach Doc Rivers turned to him to start in place of the injured Seth Curry and he had 19 points on 5-for-11 shooting from deep in a 109-102 win over the Toronto Raptors on the road. It was a performance that both he and the Sixers desperately needed.
“With the starters, he has to do less, which allows him to do more,” said Rivers. “He didn’t have to put the ball on the floor as much. He allowed the game to come to him. Them trapping Ben (Simmons) or Joel (Embiid), one of the thoughts before the game if Seth can’t play, who’s our next best spot-up shooter? Furkan was the guy so he really came through for us.”
Despite his struggles and the fact that Rivers said he is going to turn to rookie Isaiah Joe in the rotation, the Sixers felt comfortable sending him out there to start the game. He responded well and that is what Philadelphia needs and expects out of him. He is the guy the team turns to when they need something offensively and he just was not able to provide it.
“For me, that was a new challenge today,” said Korkmaz. “I needed one of these games. The last four or five games, I was definitely struggling, we can definitely say that. Doc trusts me. He gave me the confidence to start the game and I think I did a good job.”
He started quickly with 16 points in the first quarter while knocking down four triples and that gave Philadelphia the start they needed in order to get the job done.
“He’s been huge,” said Simmons. “We expect great games from Furk. His IQ is actually very high on the floor. Offensively, he’s gotten a lot better finishing through contact and finishing at the rim, and obviously, he’s a knock-down shooter. He’s been great for us.”
The Sixers will now need him to get on a hot streak to help the bench unit get it going when Curry returns from his left ankle issue.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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