After missing five games, the Portland Trail Blazers’ Evan Turner is set to return to the floor in Memphis tonight.
Since the NBA All-Star Break, the Portland Trail Blazers have been without backup point guard Evan Turner for all of eight minutes. But his five-game hiatus will end tonight, as Head Coach Terry Stotts confirmed that ET will see the floor against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Terry Stotts confirms that Evan Turner will play tonight after missing the last five games.
— Dan Sheldon (@DanSheldonVoice) March 5, 2019
Tonight’s game in Memphis will conclude a seven-game road trip. A pivotal stretch as the Western Conference’s best teams jockey for playoff positioning in the two months leading up to the playoffs, the Blazers have exceeded expectations in the embers of February and the beginning of March. They’ve gone 5-1 over their last six games, with that only L coming in a two-point loss to the Toronto Raptors – one of the East’s best teams.
Because the Blazers are rolling right now, Turner’s return may prove dicey for the perception over him.
In his absence, Portland has staggered Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum‘s minutes more regularly and played a faster brand of basketball with a second-unit that features two of the team’s newest acquisitions, Rodney Hood and Enes Kanter. What’s more, Maurice Harkless is finally reemerging after a mostly mediocre season to this point – feeding off more advantageous offensive positioning inside and in transition.
If the second-unit looks flatter and/or the team loses to a faltering Memphis team, calls to keep Turner on the bench could grow.
Of course, there’s always the chance for the opposite. A solid, reliable Turner – who is currently shooting the best field goal percentage of his career – may ultimately bolster this Blazers squad as a versatile player who can fit with both the starters and reserves.
The most intriguing part to Turner’s return will be if Portland’s second-unit continues pushing the pace. As the Athletic’s Zach Harper pointed out in a past article, Turner has been abysmal as a scorer in transition and turns the ball over at a 27.1 percent rate in these opportunities. To be fair, these numbers were influenced by previous games this season, before Hood, Kanter, and Harkless stepped onto the scene.
Getting a weapon back is always a good thing, and with the extra rest and time to recalibrate following the break, ET should be in prime position to succeed.
But there will be pressure. Or, at least there should be. Even Turner himself hinted to the Athletic’s Jason Quick that, although the Blazers are winning, there likely won’t be space for everyone currently in the rotation:
"There's no rush. We are winning and doing our thing, and I want to make sure I get my legs underneath me,'' Turner said. "And it's a good thing I'm out, or else it would be like a 12-man rotation.'' https://t.co/3Wnulf5HnD
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) March 2, 2019
Turner’s spot in the rotation should not be a given, especially as we’ve seen how well this team has performed without him.
His return should undoubtedly boost the club’s morale, but the coaching staff will need to soberly assess how much better Turner makes them on the floor in these next couple games compared to this current 5-1 stint.
The Blazers tip-off in Memphis at 5:00 P.S.T.