Philadelphia 76ers guard Furkan Korkmaz has played five games in FIBA. How has he looked during this stretch?
Furkan Korkmaz has played five games in the FIBA U20 tournament for Turkey. In these games, he has shown flashes of brilliance, but the games have also exposed some of the weaknesses in his game. In this post I will analyze his strengths and weaknesses through his run in FIBA.
Positives
Korkmaz has shown an impressive ability to make the correct reads with the ball in his hands. Through five games, Korkmaz has 24 assists to only nine turnovers.
Turkey let Korkmaz run the point for large stretches vs Ukraine, and Korkmaz delivered. Here is an example of Korkmaz getting doubled off of the screen, and instead of forcing up a bad shot he passes it to his teammate for the easy bucket.
Again, Korkmaz is doubled on the pick-and-roll, and he makes a good read to the roller for an efficient shot right just outside of the paint.
Lastly, here’s a pretty lob by Korkmaz to his big. He confuses the defense by looking to his left right as he throws the lob, similar to how a quarterback would look off a safety before completing a deep pass.
Korkmaz has only shot 27.9 percent from three during this tournament, but he only has taken 29 three point attempts. The sample size is small enough to where it shouldn’t be a major concern, considering he shot 42.2 percent over his previous three years in Euroleague and Turkey.
Korkmaz has a quick release. In this instance, his defender doesn’t even try to fight over the screen and Korkmaz nails the three. Korkmaz is going to face much stiffer resistance in the NBA though. Guards are going to know Korkmaz is a threat from three and they will fight hard to get over the screen.
Lastly, Korkmaz through five games is a plus-23 with Turkey. This shouldn’t be surprising, considering his level of competition is not great, but it still is encouraging and something worth mentioning.
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Negatives
Korkmaz has to try harder on defense. Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown is not going to like it if he puts Korkmaz in the game and stuff like this happens.
Number 17 for Latvia sets an incredibly weak screen on Korkmaz (he doesn’t even touch him!) and Korkmaz just dies. Korkmaz doesn’t even contest the shot at the rim.
Here is another example of poor defense. Korkmaz doesn’t get low enough and lets the Latvian guard take him off the dribble.
Lastly, here is Korkmaz vainly swiping at the ball, he doesn’t even try to defend. Korkmaz’s defensive woes seem like a combination of poor technique and poor effort. Hopefully Brett Brown can help Korkmaz improve in this area.
On a positive note about his defense, here’s him chasing down a big in transition and stuffing him at the rim without fouling. He is capable of playing good defense, he just needs to improve effort wise.
Lastly, Korkmaz hasn’t been very efficient. He has shot 35.6 from the field, and as I said earlier only 27.6 percent from three. However, I’m not too concerned with this, because Korkmaz is essentially the number one option on his team.
We all know he is a good three point shooter. When Korkmaz does play it should be with Simmons or Fultz. Korkmaz will get a lot of opportunities to hit open threes if he does see minutes, and his skill as a secondary ball handler will be valuable too. Korkmaz’s usage won’t be as high as it is now with Turkey.
Conclusion
Korkmaz isn’t going to get many minutes this year. He is being blocked by Fultz, Redick, McConmell, Stauskas, Bayless, and Anderson. What the Sixers should do is start him in Delaware and give him a lot of freedom as a secondary ball handler. His FIBA play proves he has potential in this area.
Furkan Korkmaz has his flaws, but his incredible three point shot, his size, and his playmaking give Philadelphia yet another intriguing young player to try to develop.
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One last note, Korkmaz probably shouldn’t try reverse dunks in the NBA, it may not end well for him.