12. Furkan Korkmaz
A meniscus tear will keep second-year wing Furkan Korkmaz out for the remainder of the regular season as he is expected to be sidelined for at least four weeks.
He has not played since a loss on Feb. 12 against the Boston Celtics.
Before the injury, Korkmaz was a 5.8 point per game player who only found valuable rotation minutes on occasion. Much of his time has been spent as a three-point specialist to help space the floor.
The 21-year-old recorded a season-high 18 points twice and it happened in consecutive December games against the Pistons and the Nets. Korkmaz has shown he is capable of a hot hand.
Korkmaz is dependent on his three-point shot falling and his overall impact on games is limited as a result. He hits about one third of his long range attempts.
He has shown some improvement on defense but has also been a liability at times. Opponents are shooting an overall 48.6 percent and 44 percent from beyond the arc with Korkmaz as the primary defender.
In the playoffs, it will be difficult for a post-surgery Korkmaz work his way onto the court in key moments. As rotations typically shrink from the regular season to the postseason, Furkan may find himself in the same situation as last year’s Rockets with Luc Mbah a Moute: out of the equation in many games.
However, if Korkmaz can find some quality minutes and show that he can be more consistent as a shooter, he has the potential of playing a poor man’s Kyle Korver-type role.