Evan Turner started 80 percent of the games he appeared in during his last three campaigns. This season, however he has started just four of Boston’s 50 contests.
Transitioning to a bench role is something that many NBA players would not take lightly, but Turner has seemingly accepted it with open arms.
He has not only become the leader of Boston’s second unit; he has also become its most consistent producer. During the C’s last eight games he has scored at least 10 points seven times, corralled at least four rebounds six times, and dished out at least three assists on all eight occasions. Turner’s variety of skills, whether it comes in the form of scoring, facilitating and/or rebounding keeps opponents on their toes, and his teammates engaged.
“One of the great things about Evan is he’s a jack-of-all-trades,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said before hosting the Detroit Pistons Wednesday night. “That not only benefits you as a player, but it benefits the coach in deciding who you can play with because you’ve got more options. If you don’t have versatility, then you’re pretty much stuck with who you can play with from a positional standpoint. But if you can play a couple of different spots, if you can play with the ball, if you can post a little bit, then it gives you a couple of different options with who we can play with.”
Turner seems to have solid chemistry with every Boston reserve and his playmaking ability can help any player come alive on any given night.
Tyler Zeller was the latest beneficiary of Turner’s facilitation, when he notched his first double-double of the season (16 points, 10 rebounds) last night in a 97-89 win over the Knicks. The pair seemed to hit it off, as Turner assisted on three of Zeller’s six buckets during the second half.
When Turner and his fellow second-stringers find a groove, it’s difficult for Brad Stevens to find a reason to take them out of a game.
Last night the C’s entered the fourth quarter with a slim five-point lead. In most cases, a second unit would have had difficulty maintaining that lead, but Boston’s reserves sustained its advantage and eventually extended it.
As a result of their productivity, three of Boston’s reserves – Zeller, Turner and Kelly Olynyk – played the entire fourth quarter, and Marucs Smart played all but one minute of it.
“We just were executing well, guys looked like they had a good feel for the rhythm of the game and felt good about it,” said Stevens. “It made sense to let those guys go.”
The main reason behind their rhythm was Turner, who impacted the game in a multitude of facets (14 points, 10 rebounds and four assists).
He’s the glue that’s enabling Boston’s second unit to stick together right now, and as a result it has been the most productive bench in the NBA during its last five games (52.0 bench points per game).
– Taylor C. Snow
