Trail Blazers: Evan Turner to Play Backup Point Guard
The Trail Blazers will benefit from the flexibility at backup point guard
Terry Stotts will have newfound flexibility at point guard. Jason Quick of the CSNNW.com reported that Evan Turner will share backup point guard duties with CJ McCollum this season. The Trail Blazers will be a better team with this flexibility.
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Last year, McCollum would play point guard nearly 100% of the time that Damian Lillard rested. Stotts didn’t have enough confidence to give Tim Frazier or (later in the year) Brian Roberts significant minutes. Stotts had to space out the guards’ rest perfectly to ensure one of the two were on the court at all times. The lack of flexibility hurt the Trail Blazers offense. At times, the offense sputtered when Lillard or McCollum were having trouble creating.
Having another ball handler and offensive creator like Turner will open things up for Stotts. The star backcourt will benefit from playing off the ball more this season. One reason: Lillard and McCollum excel at catch and shoot opportunities. In fact, these four Trail Blazers players were excellent at catch and shoot three point attempts last season:
| Player | GP | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% |
| CJ McCollum | 80 | 1.6 | 3.6 | 43.9 |
| Allen Crabbe | 81 | 1.3 | 3.2 | 42.2 |
| Damian Lillard | 75 | 1.2 | 2.9 | 41.6 |
| Meyers Leonard | 61 | 1.3 | 3.4 | 39.2 |
Via NBA.com’s player tracking stats
Lillard is especially prone to pull up three pointers, but according to NBA.com’s tracking stats, he is much better in catch and shoot opportunities.
Turner is an excellent passer and very capable of running the offense for spurts during the game. During his collegiate years at Ohio State, he often played point guard despite being 6’7”. His senior year, Turner dished out six assists per game.
Turner at point guard will not likely last more than a couple minutes a game, but it might make all the difference. It could be a couple extra minutes a game that Lillard and McCollum get to stay fresh; a couple extra minutes that Lillard and McCollum get to play on the court together.