Evan Turner morphing into 'lethal' three-point shooter?

Back in December, I wrote a post titled The three-point line is not Evan Turner's friend--and that was an understatement.  At the time, Turner was 5-for-37 (13.5 percent) from deep on the season.

Now things are starting to change.  Turner has knocked down a three-pointer in each of the Celtics last three games:

Evan Turner shooting 3's.

First 69 games: 12-70
Last 3 games: 4-5

Programming note: Turner and Steph Curry go head to head next Friday.

— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) March 24, 2016

In the past week, Turner has raised his three-point percentage from 17.1 to 21.3:

The lighter side of Turner, on hitting a three tonight: "I'm not a great 3-point shooter, but damn, I wasn't 15 percent bad."

— Darren Hartwell (@darren_hartwell) March 24, 2016

Evan Turner on if he’s still lethal at 21.3% from 3: "Still lethal baby. All the time. Still lethal. You gotta guard me out there.” #Celtics

— J A R E D W E I S S (@CLNS_JaredWeiss) March 24, 2016

Turner has actually fared much butter from beyond the arc ever since the All-Star break, going 7-of-13 since mid February:

NBA - 3-point % - Post All-Star Break
(Min. 13 attempts)

1. Richardson, Mia 61.5
2. TURNER, BOS 53.8
Leonard, Por 53.8#FunWithNumbers

— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) March 25, 2016

The accuracy might well be a coincidence given the small sample size, but that's also part of the reason for his recent success--Turner has become much more judicial with his three-point attempts, taking them less frequently and only at the right times.  He's also clearly making an effort to improve:

Per usual, Evan Turner also still out shooting for #Celtics well after practice; Jae Crowder too.

— Scott Souza (@Scott_Souza) March 8, 2016

Over one two-game stretch last week, Turner's long-range proficiency peaked just as reigning-MVP Steph Curry's hit rock bottom, allowing for this bizarre statistical anomaly:

3-PT field goals made/attempted last 2 games:
Steph Curry 3-21 (14%)
Evan Turner 3-3 (100%)
Go figure.@CelticsLife

— Mark Vandeusen (@LucidSportsFan) March 22, 2016

As Grande mentioned, Turner and the C's have a showdown with Curry and the Warriors in Oakland on Friday.




Follow Mark Vandeusen on Twitter @LucidSportsFan