Is Myles Turner the 2.0 Version of LaMarcus Aldridge?

Can Myles Turner be as good, or better, than LaMarcus Aldridge?

Outside of the obvious MVP Karl-Anthony Towns, one could make the argument that Indiana Pacers rookie Myles Turner was the next best thing in the 2016 rookie class.

He wasn’t perfect in the playoffs, but he emerged from the rubble of the rookie wall that slowed him down at the end of the regular season.

Turner’s now head coach, Nate McMillan, praised him recently on Sirius XM NBA Radio’s “Off the Dribble,” and compared him to one of his former players, LaMarcus Aldridge.

"“It was almost like those guys were cloned,” McMillan said. ” … the one thing that I loved about LaMarcus was the fact that he worked extremely hard. He stayed in the gym after practice, he was early to practice, and he really worked on developing his game. Myles Turner is exactly the same type of player. This kid loves to play.”"

It is a flattering comparison, but how accurate is it?

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Ian Smith of Air Alamo pointed that Turner had more points, rebounds and blocks per a game than Aldridge in 2006, but that the veteran was a slightly better shooter.

"It may seem hyperbolic at first to put Turner in the same category as Aldridge, but the rookie Turner actually had better averages per game in points, rebounds, and blocks this year than Aldridge had back in his rookie season.The comparison in regards to their mid-range shooting ability is especially astute. This season, Aldridge shot about 43% on midrange jumpers, and Turner was close behind him with a rate of about 41%. For two guys at 6’11, it’s even more impressive that they can score away from the basket along with their low-post games."

Other than Myles being 19 years-old compared to Aldridge’s 21, there is plenty in common between the two’s rookie seasons.

According to Basketball-Reference, the two played a similar amount of minutes but took about one more shot a game to give him the edge in scoring while both shot around 50% from the field. Aldridge rookie year was slightly more efficient as far as shooting goes, but Turner’s per game numbers were slightly better.

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/19/2016.

As Air Alamo noted, LaMarcus was a better shooter than Myles on mid-range jumpers, but Turner made more 3-pointers (3 of 14) than Aldridge even took (0 of 2). Going forward if Turner can develop his shooting from beyond the arc, then that could be an edge over Aldridge over the span of their careers.

Comparing the two isn’t a perfect apples-to-apples comparison, as the two-year age difference is a factor, as well as the fact Turner had a 60/40 split between center and power forward compared to 70/30 for Aldridge according to Basketball-Reference.

Myles Turner vs LaMarcus Aldridge | PointAfter

Turner would do well to pattern his game after Aldridge, as they now 30-year-old veteran’s 22.4 PER is 14th best in the NBA this season— just behind Towns — and LaMarcus has made 5-straight All-Star Games.

If anyone is going to compare the two, McMillan is qualified to do so. And if Turner can be half as good as Aldridge has been, then the Pacers No. 11 pick from last year’s draft will continue to be a steal considering LaMarcus was the No. 2 pick in 2006.

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The two have similar numbers coming out of their respective rookie seasons, but measuring up to Aldridge won’t be an easy task for Turner. But if he can learn some of the same things McMillan taught LaMarcus, then Myles has a chance to match or be better than Aldridge.