Furkan Korkmaz discusses his mindset as starter vs. reserve for Sixers
The Philadelphia 76ers will be heading into Game 4 on Monday with the Atlanta Hawks a little shorthanded as they will be missing a key piece in veteran guard Danny Green. The sharpshooter suffered a right calf strain in Game 3 and he will miss roughly 2-to-3 weeks with the injury.
As the Sixers continue to move forward, they will need more production out of the others to replace Green. The logical option to start in his place is Furkan Korkmaz who had 14 points off the bench in Game 3 and he was a huge reason why Philadelphia was able to earn a win.
Korkmaz did start the second half in Game 3 and coach Doc Rivers will likely turn to him to start the game in Game 4. As a starter in the regular season, Korkmaz averaged 12.7 points and shot 37% from deep in 11 games compared to 8.2 points and 37.8% shooting in 44 games off the bench.
“It’s a little bit different,” Korkmaz explained. “It’s a little bit tricky because, with the second unit, we’ve been playing together all year, I think we find a good rhythm, everybody knows now what we’re capable of. With the first, I am mostly a space guy, knock down shots, and then when you start the game, you set the tone defensively and offensively. That’s also really huge for us.”
With the Sixers on the verge of going up 3-1 before the scene shifts back to Philadelphia for Game 5, the only thing on Korkmaz’s mind is getting a win. No matter how the team gets it done, it’s all he wants to do.
“I don’t think my mentality changes,” he added. “It doesn’t matter if I start or if I come off the bench, I’m still trying to make the shots, make the play, or attack the closeouts. If the team needs it, I can create too so that’s what I’m trying to do.”
It does help that he was able to have such a big game on Friday. A performance like that in a hostile environment on the road can give any player confidence going forward.
“It helps a lot,” he added. “I’m going into Game 4 with that mentality. It’s going to be important, because we play on the road before we come to Philly again. We want to get this W. It’s going to be really important to start the game as a team really well and I hope we will get the W.”
The Sixers and the Hawks will tip off at 7:30 p.m. EDT from State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Monday.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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