Philadelphia 76ers: Evan Turner's Breakout Should Be No Surprise

Before last week, you didn't have to look far to find someone ready to declare Evan Turner, the Philadelphia 76ers' No. 2 overall pick in last year's draft, a massive bust.

Just last week, John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Daily News wrote that it was time for the Sixers to trade Evan Turner and stick with Andre Iguodala.

One week and four starts later, Philadelphia's developed a case of "The Villain" fever.

Before this week, Turner had only received 30-plus minutes in three games this season. Naturally, that led to some rumblings about Turner being unhappy with his relative lack of playing time—and even a player-to-coach conversation about it.

Then, Jodie Meeks, the starting shooting guard, started turning in some inconsistent performances. Soon enough, the supposed advantage that Meeks' perimeter aptitude provided was negated by his swinging point totals and shooting percentages.

At that point, with the Sixers still trying to regain footing after their recent five-game skid, coach Doug Collins had no choice. Meeks, the second-round pick from 2009, was headed to the bench.

After a 1-of-12 night in his first start against Milwaukee, Turner reminded everyone why he won the National Player of the Year award in college in the Sixers' blowout of the Boston Celtics. In his most complete performance of his career, Turner turned in a game-high 26 points, nine rebounds and two assists in 37 minutes.

Turner said things after the game like, "it definitely helped" that Collins told him he'd receive extended minutes, noting, "I'm going to have some good nights and some bad nights, and as a player and a pro, you understand that." He added, "Tonight was a good night, and I’m going to try to build off of this and keep learning, and keep getting better."

Two nights later, in 43 minutes, he dropped 16 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, a steal and a block the Sixers' 104-91 win over the Utah Jazz. Another good night.

And Turner continued the hot streak Sunday against the New York Knicks with 24 points and 15 rebounds on 9-of-14 shooting in 40 minutes.

Take that, Carmelo Anthony (22 points, nine rebounds, 5-of-13 shooting).

Point is: Now that Turner's forced his way into the starting lineup, he's not going anywhere. Since the starting spot typically comes with a boost in minutes, performances like these may become par for the course for Turner soon enough.

"For sure it's the most minutes I've gotten," Turner said after the Knicks game. "And you can't do much without minutes."

There's always a chance Turner's having a Jeremy Lin-esque miracle streak, and could revert to the "pretty good, but not superstar" level, too. That's a risk Collins and the Sixers appear ready to take.

"We’ve got to play an extended period of time with he and 'Dre together," Collins said this past week. "And that’s what I'm locked into. Unless there’s an injury, I'm finishing the year with those two guys playing together."

Plain and simple, you don't spend a No. 2 pick on a player that you have no intention of putting in the starting lineup. (Well, unless you're Chris Wallace and the Memphis Grizzlies, of course... how's that Hasheem Thabeet pick working out?)

Turner started 14 games last year, and only logged 30 minutes or more in 16 of the 78 games he played in. That's not nearly enough time to decide, one way or another, whether it's time to abandon all hope on the presumed future of the franchise.

At this point, Collins knows what he's getting out of Meeks. He's a hard-nosed, 6'4" sharpshooter with occasional accuracy problems. Assuming he rediscovers his stroke, he could evolve into the Sixers' version of a poor man's Jason Terry, but he's not starter-on-a-championship-team material.

That's not to say that Turner necessarily is. But Collins owes it to the team and the franchise to give Turner the opportunity to play starters' minutes without fear of a quick hook.

It's no secret Turner thrives with the ball in his hands, much like Iguodala. Can a team really have too many guys comfortable with handling the ball, though? Especially in a pass-heavy offense like the one the Sixers run?

Turner's all-around basketball IQ, not to mention his nose for rebounds, provides the Sixers' starting lineup a versatility that Meeks couldn't.

As for the lack of a "shooter" in the starting lineup, Iguodala has some thoughts.

"They always say you need a better shooter out there, but Evan’s a better shooter than you think, and my three ball has been going in for the most part throughout the season. ... It’s a different dynamic with Evan, as all of us can make plays for each other."

Hate to say I told you so, but at this point in his career, Turner's far from a bust.

With every start, he's looking more like the franchise cornerstone the team had in mind.