Sixers' Doc Rivers, Ben Simmons Praise Furkan Korkmaz After Win vs. Mavericks
Ever since cracking the Philadelphia 76ers' rotation as a primary piece off the bench last season, Furkan Korkmaz has been battling to prove he belongs on the court. Last year, Korkmaz averaged 21 minutes in 72 games off the bench for the Sixers in the regular season, but when the playoffs rolled around, he averaged just 10 minutes.
This year, Korkmaz has averaged 19 minutes per game in 43 matchups under first-year head coach Doc Rivers. While he knows he's a part of the primary regular-season rotation, the Turkish sharpshooter is working on proving to Rivers that he deserves a spot in the postseason rotation as well.
Although Korkmaz had had his ups and downs throughout the year, his last two games against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks are a good stepping stone for the young guard as he's put up 40 points while knocking down nearly 50-percent of his threes in his last 48 minutes of action.
“He’s been great,” said Sixers head coach Doc Rivers. “He has great rhythm, and he’s doing less. I thought he went through that stretch where he tried to do too much with the ball, and now he’s not. He’s taking a shot when he has it, the straight-line drives, which is phenomenal for us. He’s not dancing with the ball anymore, and we thought he got into that a little bit. I thought that threw him off.”
Sixers All-Star Ben Simmons has played with Korkmaz since he got his start in Philly. As somebody who's seen Korkmaz have his ups and downs, Simmons mentioned that after Monday's win over Dallas, Korkmaz had shown notable improvement lately.
"He's taken a huge jump and has gotten a lot better in the time I played with him," Simmons said about Korkmaz. "For me, it's easy to play with Furk. We have a good connection out there on the floor in the pick and roll game. He can pass, he can shoot. I've had a blast playing with him, and he continues to get better."
Korkmaz doesn't have too much time left this season to showcase his value, so he's got to stay on top of his game throughout the next 18 matchups to prove that he belongs in the rotation when the games matter the most.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.
