Pacers Pulse: Myles Turner Dunks On Small Children

Myles Turner shows no mercy on the kids at his basketball camp.

When Myles Turner was running his basketball camp earlier this month, he said he wanted to give back to the community that raised him.

But as much as he likes to give, he doesn’t mind taking away.

In this case, the hopes and dreams of small children on the basketball court.

As you can see, Turner cried havoc and let slip the hogs dogs of war, dunking on humans less than half his size.

According to his interview with Dime Magazine, he was just trying to teach a life lesson.

"There have been a bunch of videos of NBA players destroying little kids on the court going one-on-one. Do you take it easy or do you bring it every time against them?I bring it every time and I show ’em no mercy. No one’s gonna show them mercy when they play against them, so it’s a great way to get a good mindset at a young age."

Teach the kids early that life isn’t fair.

Sports Illustrated grades the Indiana Pacers offseason

Change has come to the Indiana Pacers, but how well do all the moves add up?

Sports Illustrated’s Ben Golliver gave the Indiana Pacers a C+ for their offseason, citing many of the concerns we’ve mentioned earlier this summer.

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But perhaps the most interesting part was looking at the long term as far as what these moves mean for Indiana’s future.

"Bigger picture, the concern is that the Pacers have spent another off-season treading water as George’s first crack at unrestricted free agency (he can opt out in 2018) gets closer and closer. And even with all the activity, it’s hard to make the case that Indiana took a full step forward in the standings for 2016-17, which could require another shakeup next summer. The addition of Young and the lack of a truly horrendous contract decision earns Bird slightly better than a passing mark, but little more."

Paul George is locked in until the summer of 2018, and after that, it is his choice whether he stays or goes.

Obviously, he is Indiana’s biggest concern going forward.

While Golliver is a tough critic, he’s right in the regard that if the Pacers don’t move up into the upper-echelon of the Eastern Conference, they’ve likely done little to impress George and possibly hurt their chances to keep him.

However, the addition of Al Jefferson might be underrated in the sense the now backup center could solve some of the bench woes Indiana’s had in recent years.

Another big factor is the growth of Myles Turner. If he becomes a legitimate star, that certainly changes the prospects of the Pacers going forward.

This season could go a long way into deciding George’s fate two years from now. If the Pacers don’t take a step forward this season, Golliver is right that next year will likely bring more changes.

The Pacers New Identity

Basketball Insiders hit on some of those same concerns in a post the other morning, asking if the Pacers can find success after trying to change their identity.

"But after leading with defense for almost 30 years, maybe it was wise for Bird to skip the nostalgia and transition the team into a totally new era – a scoring era – in order to chase a title. It sounds ambitious, but the talent Bird was able to assemble in two months is intriguing to say the least."

As someone who has watched this team for years, the change in style is a welcome one.

The Pacers identity was built around the defense, and even though they came close to a trip to the NBA Finals that way, that doesn’t mean they have to stick with it.

The departures of David West and Roy Hibbert signaled the end of that era as they were two key contributors to that defense. Sticking to that plan was foolish unless they found similar players to replace them. Along with several other factors and roster changes, it only makes sense to attempt a makeover of the team’s identity.

For better or for worse, this isn’t the Pacers team of years past.

Reggie Miller’s Birthday

https://twitter.com/ReggieMillerTNT/status/768502084027097088

Yesterday was Reggie Miller’s Birthday and a happy 51st to him.

We didn’t get a gift for Reggie, but the Miller Time Podcast is trying to figure how to get the legend a statue in front of Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

We’ll update you here if this is, in fact, going to be a thing.

Thaddeus Young Karaoke

The newly acquired power forward Thadeus Young is vacationing with his wife in St. Lucia, and they’ve apparently found the perfect soundtrack for it.