Evan Turner at Point Guard Opens World of Opportunities for Philadelphia Sixers

On Monday, Doug Collins confirmed that the No. 2 overall pick of this year's NBA Draft, Evan Turner, will be coming off the bench to back up Jrue Holiday to start the season.

Now, many Sixers fans expected Turner to start the season at the SG position, with Andre Iguodala playing the SF position, so some may be disappointed that The Villain is coming off the bench to start the season.

However, having Turner at the PG spot opens up many other opportunities for the rest of the Sixers squad.

I'm gonna propose a what-if scenario here if Evan Turner actually started at the SG position. The starting lineup would be Holiday at point, Turner at guard, Iguodala at small forward, Elton Brand (sadly) at power forward, and Spencer Hawes (wish it was Marreese Speights) at center.

With this starting lineup, Collins would be faced with quite a few problems when trying to make substitutions. For example, Thaddeus Young, Lou Williams, and Marreese Speights.

For Young, he will have a hard time getting into a rhythm, because he would constantly be switching between the shooting guard, small forward, and power forward positions based on the lineup.

Even though Thaddeus Young can play each of these positions rather well because of his quickness and ability to shoot the ball, it will cause unnecessary headaches for both him and Collins. With a talent like Thaddeus Young on the roster, it would be a waste to Williams last season had career highs in both FG percentage and points scored, but he will have a tough time playing as the backup PG to Holiday, when he is more comfortable at the SG spot. Most followers of the Sixers would know that Williams was not the answer for the Sixers at the point position, and keeping him away from his SG slot could be a problem for him and the rest of the team while on the floor.

And finally, Marreese Speights is a very athletic big guy who can consistently shoot from 17 feet out. He will rebound and make great hustle plays while he is on the floor. But there is the problem: he has to be on the floor. With Brand and Hawes starting, and Thaddeus Young playing the PF position due to the lack of a true spot for him, Speights' minutes will decline, as will his production.

How can this all be solved? Can one position change really help these players play their best? Why, yes it can. With Evan Turner playing the point, not only does this create huge mismatches with opposing defenses due to his size (6'7", kind of like Tyreke Evans), but it opens up the court for other guys as well.

With Turner coming off the bench, we can shift Iguodala over to the 2 spot, where he will be more effective, and Young can come in and start at his true position, small forward. These changes also clear things up for Williams and Speights as well, making Lou the undisputed back up to Andre at SG where he plays best, and Speights will be the guy to back up Elton Brand at his most natural position, power forward.

As you can see, merely one little change in a team's lineup can make all the difference for how a team utilizes the rest of their players. We can also expect to have career years for these players, as this season is truly the first year that each player is right where they are supposed to be.