Blazers: 5 goals for Evan Turner to achieve in 2018-2019

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PORTLAND, OR – APRIL 11: Evan Turner #1 of the Portland Trail Blazers battles for the ball against Donavan MItchell #45 of the Utah Jazz at Moda Center on April 11, 2018 in Portland, Oregon.NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) /

Court vision

As a secondary ball handler for Portland’s bench squad, Turner had trouble creating open opportunities for his teammates – in 25.5 minutes per game, he only accounted for 2.2 assists.

The low assist tallies stem from him spending too much time with his head down on isolation or post-up plays. He becomes tunnel-visioned and frequently shoots a turnaround midrange jumper which isn’t the most effective shot, even for Turner.

If he gets promoted to the primary ball handler for the bench unit, he needs to improve his court vision on post-ups or isolations. The Blazers reserves joining him will likely be:

Seth Curry: 43.2% career three-point shooter.
Nik Stauskas: 34.9% career three-point shooter.
CJ McCollum: 40.8% career three-point shooter.
Zach Collins: 31.0% career three-point shooter.

Per Synergy, in 2017-2018, Turner’s kickouts on isolation plays led to 0.875 points per possession, which is below average. Post-ups that he passed out of led to 1.125 points per possession, which is better but still improvable.

Now, any player he kicks out to can reliably knock down catch-and-shoot threes. This should encourage him to pass out more instead of attempting low percentage shots, increasing his assists per game.