The Philadelphia 76ers are dealing with a lot to begin the 2021-22 season as they have been dealing with the Ben Simmons saga off the floor while also dealing with a lot of adversity at the moment when it comes to losing players to injury and the health and safety protocols.
In Saturday’s 114-105 win over the Chicago Bulls, they were shorthanded once again, but they received a big performance from Furkan Korkmaz off the bench.
Even Korkmaz missed a game as he was unavailable in Thursday’s win over the Detroit Pistons with right wrist soreness. He was able to return in a big way with 25 points while knocking down seven triples as the Sixers needed it the most. He started the game 4-for-4 from deep and he was making big plays down the stretch in order to help the Sixers get it done in Chicago.
Afterward, Korkmaz was asked about his big performance and he credited his growing confidence from the coaching staff.
“I gotta say this is coming from the coaching staff for sure because they trust me more,” said Korkmaz. “They give me more confidence. They are running more plays for me and not just for scoring, not just for shooting, I’m trying to make more plays also for my teammates. I’ve been working on this, but I think this year, I have equal opportunity, especially in the second unit to show this, and definitely, I can say this is coming from the coaching staff.”
Considering this is Korkmaz’s fifth season, he has continued to grow as a player within the offense and he has earned the trust of his teammates. Joel Embiid has played with the Turkish guard from the jump and even he notices a difference in his play.
“He’s gotten so much better,” said Embiid. “Especially since coach came in and got the job. He put a lot of responsibility on him to kinda handle the ball for the guys coming off the bench. From where he started as a standstill shooter to where he’s at now, it speaks to the work that he’s put in to become an even better player, a complete player.”
Paul Reed, who earned the start in this one for the shorthanded group, was impressed by what Korkmaz brought to the floor as well. Philadelphia certainly needed all of it in the Windy City.
“I was like ‘this dude is insane’,” said Reed. “The shots that he makes consistently is just incredible to me. I’m hoping one day I can get on his level.”
Even on the defensive end, which has always been a bit of a struggle for Korkmaz, there has been a bit of an improvement in that area of his game. He held his own against the likes of Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan on Saturday and Embiid noticed it.
“I think the biggest part of his evolution, I think is, he’s gotten so much better defensively,” said the big fella. “I’m just happy to have him as a teammate and I’m glad that we signed him back.”
The Sixers now return home to host the New York Knicks on Monday.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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