The Los Angeles Clippers handed the Trail Blazers their first loss of the season Thursday night at the Moda Center, and in between the technical fouls and altercations and obvious dislike, something more important was unmistakably clear: Evan Turner was not the player he was promised to be.

He made unforced turnovers. He missed shots. He sat on the bench during crunch time.

The Blazers doled out $70 million so that Turner could be the difference against the Clippers and other Western Conference powers. Instead, as the waning seconds ticked off the clock and official Lauren Holtkamp was calling ridiculous fouls, Turner was sandwiched between teammates on the Blazers' bench, left to sit and watch and contemplate a discouraging start to his Blazers tenure.

Turner finished with four points, six rebounds and one assist, while making just 2 of 8 shots, against the Clippers. In 23 minutes, he recorded a plus/minus of minus-11. He also gifted two unforced turnovers, the worst coming at the start of the fourth quarter, when he basically handed Jamal Crawford the ball while trying to initiate offense at the top of the key. Through two games, Turner is averaging just 3.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists, while shooting 20 percent from the field (3 of 15).

It all comes after an inconsistent preseason during which Turner failed to produce the playmaking pizzazz and scoring punch many thought he would.

But here's a novel idea Rip City: Don't rush to hate. Give Turner time to figure it out. Give Turner a few games -- even a few weeks -- to show why President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey invested so much money in him. Save your judgment for another time.

So often, with our Facebook updates and never-ending twitter stream, we crave instant gratification and are quick to quit on a player without giving him time to succeed. Let's not do that with Turner.

I can't say for sure that he will evolve into what he was promised to be. No one can. But Olshey's track record for scouting talent and molding rosters has been pretty good during his five years in Portland. And coach Terry Stotts' ability to not only develop players, but also figure out ways to capitalize on their strengths, has been superb. Why should we believe he can't figure it out with Turner?

As we've seen in Portland so often over the years, it sometimes it just takes a little time.

Gerald Henderson seemed like he wouldn't last past the trade deadline last season. Instead, he fought through the early struggles, learned how to integrate his midrange-heavy game into Stotts' system and played his best right about the time the Blazers started their second-half surge. The same goes for Moe Harkless. He was in and out -- and seemingly out for good -- of Stotts' player rotation. You had written him off sometime around the All-Star break, when it seemed like his NBA career was on life support. Now, soothed by a $40 million contract, he's the Blazers' starting small forward.

And what Blazers fan can forget Andre Miller's cold Portland introduction? As we watched him brick corner threes and struggle to adapt to Nate McMillan's offense, while proving to be a chemistry experiment gone awry with star Brandon Roy, it looked like the Blazers made a big mistake adding him into a tight-knit roster on the rise. But by the time Miller left Portland, he had won you over with his old-man game, unselfish style and unrivaled durability.

Perhaps Turner's toughness, versatility and basketball intelligence will eventually win you over, too. Turner seems like a good dude. By all accounts, he's a good teammate. And he's been quick to take ownership of his early struggles.

Turner is working to find his way in a different offense that is predicated on freedom and movement. He's learning to play more without the ball. He's trying to blend in with a nine-man rotation that features eight players back from last season. Besides, the way he sees it, if the basketball Gods showed him a little love, his statistics wouldn't be quite as bad as they are. More than one of his shots against the Clippers rimmed in and out.

"Some nights, things are going to go your way," Turner said. "Some nights, they're not. I've just got to fight through it and build consistency in that area. And the tide is going to turn. Like I said, I'm doing things, making plays that I've always done and shooting shots that I'm always taking. The shots are just going in and out."

That has to be annoying.

"It's not really annoying," he said. "It's funny now to a point. It's a (freaking) joke."

"There's more to it. Shooting is a part of the game. I think I have to be accountable defensively, do other things, rebound, obviously make better plays. That's pretty much it. I can't really say much besides I'm getting to my spots, I'm getting the shots I like. It would be one thing if it was a flat-out air-ball. But the (stuff) is going in and out. So at the end of the day, it's almost a joke. I'm not really too much concerned with that."

When Turner was answering questions in the Blazers' locker room after Thursday night's loss, the conversation turned to film review and what he sees when he watches himself struggle on the court. Ed Davis, eavesdropping while sitting a couple feet away, butted in: "He looks like a boss." They chuckled. Two minutes later, as CJ McCollum opened the locker room doors to leave, he patted Turner on the shoulder as if to say, 'Hang in there. Better days are ahead." It's clear Turner has the support of his teammates.

As Turner followed McCollum out of the locker room door, he pledged to continue to practice hard, continue to fight through his struggles, continue to hoist extra post-practice shots with "the best shooters on the team," and continue to hold himself accountable for his play -- good or bad.

"You don't want to start off this way, but it occurs," he said. "Right now, I think it's going to help me a lot just to keep expanding and keep getting better. This will work itself out."

Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com 503-294-5183 @BlazerFreeman