Philadelphia 76ers guard Furkan Korkmaz has experienced a number of slumps in his five seasons in Philadelphia. He has had weeks where he looks like a legitimate sharpshooter and weeks where he can’t get anything to fall.
However, this latest slump seemed much longer than usual.
Through an 18-game stretch (Nov. 11-Dec. 23), Korkmaz shot only 29.5% from the floor and 17.8% from deep while averaging just 5.7 points per game. Though ti seemed as if he would never break out of this one, but he did a little bit in Sunday’s win over the Washington Wizards.
Korkmaz scored 14 points, shooting 2-for-6 from deep, while providing a big spark. Despite the lengthy slump, he did not lose confidence in himself.
“I’ve been through a lot of things,” said Korkmaz. “This was not something I’m not used to, but this one felt like two or three weeks, you know? It was tough, but as a player, you just need to see a couple baskets go in and you are getting going. I know the confidence of Doc (Rivers), of the staff, that gives me a lot of confidence and trust. I think it’s coming from them.”
Korkmaz had big games in early November. He shot 7-for-9 from deep in a win over the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 6 and 5-for-12 from deep the next night against the New York Knicks, but that was it.
“This happens to a lot of shooters,” said Rivers. “Unfortunate that it’s happened to Furk. I think he had that game in Chicago and then shoosh since then. He’s getting great shots, he’s turning down shots now at times, but he’ll come out of it. I wish I could predict when.”
Korkmaz also received advice from superstar big man Joel Embiid.
“The main thing that I saw, and it also implies to me a lot of when I’m watching film with my trainer, after every single game, I thought he rushed his shots a lot lately before he got sick,” said Embiid. “He was rushing his shots a lot and all I was telling him was ‘Just hold your follow-through. Every single shot, stay in it, just hold your follow-through.’ Before that, he was basically throwing the ball and running back on defense and he wasn’t holding his follow-through, so that was the main thing I kept telling him.”
When it comes to physically busting a slump, all that can be done is to continue to shoot. However, the mental stuff is what Korkmaz can control and work through.
“The mental stuff is different,” he explained. “I was doing a lot of meditation and stuff. I think the meditation worked out today.”
Apparently, the shooter has been practicing meditation for quite some time.
“The last two years, I’ve been meditating essentially for fun,” he said. “Just getting into it. You can lose yourself more or you can be yourself more so it’s a little tricky, but I like it. I enjoy it.”
No matter what’s going on, the Sixers want Korkmaz to continue shooting.
“I just know that if I could shoot, when I was a player I couldn’t shoot, but if I could shoot when I was a player, if I was open, I would shoot it,” Rivers added. “I shot when I was open and I couldn’t shoot so if I was Furk, I would throw it at the rim as many times.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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