Elston Turner may have finally found something he does better than anyone else on the Bulls.
If Michael Jordan is their consummate scorer and Charles Oakley the consummate rebounder, then Turner is the consummate team player.
And that`s a distinction nobody really wants. When you`re a ”team guy,” it usually means sacrificing your individual game and ego, doing the dirty work and enduring periods of inactivity at the end of the bench. Yet, when suddenly the team can`t do without you, you`re expected to do it all.
There was a dramatic pause to Turner`s silent suffering Monday night when the back-up guard to Jordan started at small forward and was a key to the Bulls` 114-107 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. He scored 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting, added 6 rebounds and 4 assists in 38 minutes of play while neutralizing the Bucks` Paul Pressey on defense.
If Turner was a little winded afterward, it`s because he had gone into Monday night averaging 8.5 minutes a game in the last 20 games. This could have been a case of quenching a man`s thirst by drowning.
But the conscientious Turner pedaled on a stationary bicycle and ran countless wind sprints after practices to stay ready during the long days when the Bulls weren`t looking his way.
In his younger days, Turner would have been more defiant and less understanding. Dallas once benched him for a long period, then suddenly needed him in a pinch. ”You never called on me before, don`t call on me now,” was Turner`s attitude. Today, he`s matured into the kind of athlete coaches can`t do without.
”What he did Monday night was a tribute to what he does every day in practice,” Bulls coach Doug Collins said. ”It should serve as an example for the younger players like Mike Brown, Pete Myers and Brad Sellers about seizing an opportunity. When Elston`s number was called, he was ready. That`s what being a pro is all about.
”As a coach, I appreciate it as much as you possibly can. It can`t be easy for him. I felt like I was losing him on the West Coast trip (middle of March). That`s why I went and talked to him.”
Turner`s performance Monday probably will earn him another start Thursday against the Atlanta Hawks at the Stadium. But Turner realizes at 6 feet 5 inches, 190 pounds, he cannot match up against some small forwards. If Collins doesn`t think he can stay with Dominique Wilkins, Turner will quietly re-enlist with the Bulls ready reserves.
”Maybe Coach won`t want to play me because of certain match-ups that would hurt the team,” Turner said about starting Thursday. ”If that`s the case, I`ll go back on the shelf and wait to be called again.”
Turner played forward in college at Mississippi and went head to head with Wilkins when Dominique starred at Georgia. In the 1980-81 season, Wilkins was the Southeast Conference`s leading scorer and Turner No. 2.
”I know I can play against him pretty well,” Turner said. ”He`s two inches taller, but weight-wise, we`re about the same, and I`m as strong as he is.”
— Jordan, Oakley and Sellers have turned in strong performances as the Bulls have won three of their last four games. Jordan is averaging 44 points, 7 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 4 steals a game in the last four games. Over the last five, he is shooting 54.5 percent. Jordan`s back-to-back games of 50 or more points Sunday and Monday were the first since Bernard King did it three years ago. Before that, it was Wilt Chamberlain in the early 1960s.
Discounting the Bulls` 116-86 rout of Detroit April 7, when Oakley only played 26 minutes, the 6-9 power forward is averaging 15.9 points and 18.1 rebounds in seven games. There were four games during that stretch in which he pulled down 19 or more rebounds.
Take away a poor performance against Philadelphia last Friday and Sellers is averaging 14.3 points and 5.8 rebounds a game in eight games.
— Collins met with Gene Banks after practice Tuesday to help the struggling small forward regain his midseason form. ”We were trying to get the smile back on my face and get my enthusiasm back,” Banks said. ”We want to get the old Gene Banks rolling. If I`m not happy in basketball, I`m not happy in life.”
”I know he is struggling, but going into the playoffs, we want him back,” Collins said. ”I want him to be more offensive-minded. Defenses are running away from him when they double-team Michael Jordan. He has to take it to the basket and make the play.”
