Through the first four seasons of Furkan Korkmaz’s career with the Philadelphia 76ers, he was known for one thing: his ability to shoot. He showed that skill in Wednesday’s 117-97 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, but he also showed an ability to handle the ball.
In the past, the Sixers did not have Korkmaz playing much at point guard. While they may have played him there on opening night out of necessity with Ben Simmons suspended and Shake Milton injured, coach Doc Rivers wants to see more of it.
“Furk plays point guard in Europe,” said Rivers. “We talked about that last year. We experimented with it a bit last year and it didn’t work out well for us, but you can tell that’s what he worked on. That’s what we asked him to work on.”
Korkmaz looks like he has taken his coach’s advice. He had five assists with only one turnover, something he can build off.
“Right now, Doc is trusting me,” Korkmaz said. “He is giving me a lot of confidence, too. He wants me to make a play. He just doesn’t want me to score. He wants me to make plays for the others. I think this year, especially, I understand that much better than in past years.”
The fifth-year guard from Turkey is feeling much more comfortable showing off this skill, something he might not have been in the past.
“I do now because the first couple of years, you’re trying to get your spot in the rotation,” he explained. “You are trying to play what coach is giving you and mostly for the young guys, it’s just spot up, catch and shoot 3s, and just playing defense without mistakes. That is what almost like my first three years.”
The Pelicans pressured him and Isaiah Joe when Tyrese Maxey was on the bench, and the two handled that well. Joe did not turn the ball over at all, and he and Korkmaz did a good job of getting the team organized. It was a performance to Rivers’ liking.
“Having him and Isaiah out there together, teams that press, we’ll sub out Tyrese and bring him back and have one guard with that group, but overall, I thought when someone pressured Isaiah, they threw it to Furk,” said Rivers. “When they pressured Furk, he threw it to Isaiah. I thought that was good.”
At the end of the day, this is a position Korkmaz has played his entire basketball life, so this is not new to him. Maybe point Furk will be a thing going forward.
“When I was younger, I was playing point guard,” he explained. “Every time, I knew that it was in my pocket, but I just never had the chance to use it. Every summer, I try to focus on my dribbling. I am not a short guy, I don’t dribble low, that’s why I’m a better ball-handler than other guys on the court.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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