A breakdown of Sixers rookie Furkan Korkmaz's game
The Sixers know he can shoot, but they'll look to improve his defense and inside game.
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LAS VEGAS — Now that we know rookie Markelle Fultz will be shut down for the rest of the summer league after spraining his left ankle on Saturday, most of the attention toward those still playing for the 76ers turns toward Furkan Korkmaz. The 6-foot-7, soon-to-be-20-year-old guard most likely will benefit from playing most of his basketball this season with the Delaware 87ers, where he can get used to NBA speed and build up his skinny frame.
Here's a closer look at the small sample size of the game Korkmaz has exhibited so far.
Offense
Obviously, it appears he can become a very good shooter in the league. The distance of the NBA three doesn't seem to bother him too much. He is very good at getting his feet set and, when he's not fully comfortable, not forcing anything just for the sake of getting off a shot. He does have trouble going to his weak side (left) and pulling up. Usually, his shots wind up long.
He is a terrific ball shower, meaning his ball fakes on a shot or pass make defenders often bite. A good ball faker does about 75 percent of what he would do normally before pulling the ball back. Korkmaz does that. He'll do 75 percent of what he does to take a shot, then stop, fooling the defender. Same thing with passing. Good ball fakes are vital to an offense, such as the Sixers', that wants to move the ball as much as possible.
There seems to be a little resistance to go to the rim when there is going to be obvious contact. That could be partly because of his youth and lack of physicality, or it could be a problem that needs to be worked on. Being such a good ball faker, he will find openings to the basket. He'll have to take advantage of them.
He comes off picks well, ready to catch and pass or shoot as his hands are always in the right place to receive the ball.
He's somewhat flamboyant at times with the ball. Would rather him improve fundamentally before relying on that.
[Sixers' Ben Simmons benefited from his year off the court]
Defense
He looks for a body to box out when a shot goes up and usually gets to the person. He just doesn't really do any boxing out a lot of times.
Gets beaten off the dribble way too easily. Needs to learn the difference between forcing a player one way (left or right) and not allowing the offensive player to get wherever he wants.
Takes some huge hits while getting run off picks, but sticks with it and doesn't lose his man too many times.
Closes out under control when his man is lining up to shoot. He knows that his length is a huge asset there.
Korkmaz really is just a baby when it comes to the NBA, so good and bad are really just minor at this point. His intangibles, though, have the organization very excited.
"I just feel he's a poised player," said Lloyd Pierce, Sixers assistant who is coaching them in Vegas. "We're trying to speed him up sometimes with running the plays and attack downhill and not just be a perimeter guy that stays out and shoots threes. The comfort and the spacing of the NBA game and then his ability to use some of his tools combined with that will help him, and that's where you're seeing his confidence grow.
"The first thing I heard was that he was a really good athlete and won some dunk contests and stuff like that over in Europe. If that's in his arsenal, then we want to see it, and that's attacking downhill and making plays at the rim. It's not just about shooting threes. We know he can shoot. We want him to get hot; we want him to get comfortable. But we want them to be the right shots. We also want him to show off what else he can do – his passing ability — and show off some of that athleticism at the rim."