Evan Turner’s Injury Could Hamper Portland Trail Blazers’ Playoff Fight

The Portland Trail Blazers lost Evan Turner for five to six weeks with a fractured right hand. How will this impact Portland and its fight to make the NBA playoffs?

The Portland Trail Blazers enter their Thursday night matchup against the Boston Celtics, and the near future, without starting small forward Evan Turner.

Turner injured his hand in Portland’s 114-113 buzzer-beating win over the Dallas Mavericks. He jammed his hand running through a Harrison Barnes screen with 7:45 remaining in the third quarter.

Turner attempted to stay in the game despite the injury. He air-balled a three-pointer and recorded an assist before leaving for good with 5:08 left in the third quarter.

Evan Turner fractured the third metacarpal in his right hand. He has opted not to have surgery and will let it heal naturally. Therefore, he will be out five to six weeks.

Evan Turner has been an interesting case this season. He signed a four-year, $70 million contract with Portland in July. This deal came off of a respectable 2015-16 season with the Celtics. He was a key role player in the team’s 48-34 season and playoff run.

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Turner played 81 games (starting 12) and averaged 10.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. His 46.9 effective field goal percentage is the highest of his career.

He also put up his highest shooting percentage (45.6 percent) and scoring average since his last half-season with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Portland Trail Blazers

But Turner had a rocky start to the 2016-17 season. Turner averaged 7.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in his first 14 games. He shot 35.2 percent from the field and 25.0 percent from three.

Turner eventually settled into the Blazers’ game plan, averaging 10.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists on 46.2 percent field goal shooting after the initial slump.

Now Evan Turner is sidelined with an injury just as things were turning around. Portland loses a multi-faceted player that could hamper their chances of getting back to eighth place in the Western Conference and securing a spot in the NBA Playoffs.

The Blazers lose a scoring option in Turner. Turner is sixth on the team in scoring due to his rough start to the season. However, he has been Portland’s third-leading scorer over the last six games.

While he continues to struggle from three-point range (28.3 percent on the season), he’s still aggressive and skilled enough to create his own shot from mid-range or by attacking the basket. That is valuable when Damian Lillard or C.J. McCollum are struggling to get going early in games.

Portland also loses their tertiary ball-handler. Turner brings the ball up the floor when Lillard and McCollum weren’t doing so. For his flaws, he can be skilled as a point forward.

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Turner is averaging 3.4 assists per game this year, fourth on the team behind Lillard, McCollum and Mason Plumlee. This is coming off of a season where Turner’s 4.4 assists per game were good for second on the Celtics. A unique aspect of playmaking goes away with Turner’s loss.

The Trail Blazers also lose a key defensive piece for the foreseeable future. Head coach Terry Stotts tends to place Turner on smaller guards when they get too hot during a game.  Turner possesses the footwork to keep up and the size to be a hindrance against most of them.

Losing Turner means that Lillard and McCollum will have to stay on their assignments longer than they normally would.

Allen Crabbe, Maurice Harkless and Al-Farouq Aminu will likely fill Turner’s offensive and defensive roles while he is out. Portland’s last three games before the All-Star Break will show if they are adequate replacements.

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In the meantime, Turner will rest his hand, and work to return in time for the final stretch of the regular season.