Weaknesses
Scoring consistently has been an issue for Evan Turner for much of his career. Though he knows how to weave his way into spots when he gets the ball in his hand, his range has always been limited.
Within the arc, Turner does okay. He made 48.5 percent of his 2-pointers. He particularly excelled at non-restricted area paint shots, where his 45.9 percent mark was well above the league average of 39.7 percent.
The problem came from beyond the arc. Turner shot 31.8 percent from distance in 2017-18. That was actually an improvement from his 26.3 percent the year before. However, it still made him unreliable in spot-up situations. Turner produced 0.96 points per possession on those plays, putting him in the 45th percentile.
3-point shooting is a skill you need out of your small forward, especially on a team with two ball-dominant guards as the stars. Unfortunately, that isn’t something Turner could offer on a consistent basis.
Evan Turner also underwhelmed defensively. He allowed 0.97 points per possession in 2017-18, a drop-off from his 0.93 points per possession in 2016-17. The backsliding is particularly glaring in contrast to the team overall, which improved on that end of the floor. The Blazers’ defensive ranking jumped from 21st to eighth in the league between 2017 and 2018.
Lastly, despite having an NBA body, Turner isn’t the most athletic wing out there. He produced only eight dunks on the year and just over 0.89 points per possession in transition, putting him the 16th percentile. His presence on the floor did little to push the pace for the Blazers.