Evan Turner returned to Philadelphia last night for the third time since being traded by the 76ers to the Indiana Pacers last season. The former No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 draft now comes off the bench for the Boston Celtics, a team that, by virtue of the fact they are in the same division as Philly, means Turner gets to take multiple trips to the City of Brotherly Love this season. He’s already been there once, a 101-90 Celtics win on November 19th, a game in which Turner only played 15 minutes and scored two points.
Monday night went quite a bit better for Turner, as he notched 12 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals in a 105-87 blowout win for the Celtics. Unfortunately, such a performance will never score many points in the love department, as the sparse crowd continued its new tradition of showering him with boos every time he touched the ball. Turner seemed hip to Philadelphia’s penchant for booing pretty much everyone, and brushed it off in a post game interview:
“I don’t worry about it anymore. I don’t want to sound super weird, but Jesus was hated too. At the end of the day, I just worry about the stuff that’s important. If it makes you happy to boo me, go ahead. I’m still happy. I put all that stuff behind me.”
We get what you’re saying, Mr. Turner, but it is kind of super weird comparing yourself to Jesus.
[CSNNE, photo credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports]
