Pacers Pulse: Myles Turner Returns To Practice

Myles Turner still isn’t 100% healthy.

Myles Turner is doubtful for Tuesday’s preseason game against the New Orleans Pelicans, but the good news is he’s back at practice.

Turner was outsprinting his teammates during drills but isn’t at 100% yet.

He suffered a concussion last month during a scrimmage.

Turner is the X-factor in how well the Indiana Pacers do this season, so any significant injury to him could lower expectations for the entire team. However, he likely will be ready to play by the regular season so Pacers fans don’t need to panic… yet.

Glenn Robinson III, Joe Young not content to ride the pine

Nate McMillan announced the starters and rotations players recently, much to the annoyance of two of the Pacers younger players.

Both Glenn Robinson III and Joe Young told Pacers.com that they weren’t content with being left out of McMillan’s rotations.

Robinson hopes to force McMillan to make some changes.

"“I don’t know if I agree with that,” he said. “If it was me, I’d pick the starting five and let everybody else battle it out. That’s what training camp and preseason is for. But I’m going to keep my same mentality and stay aggressive and stay confident in my game and come out here every day going at guys. I want to take somebody’s spot.“A lot of things happen during the season.”"

Young had similar feelings and plans to keep up his early morning practices.

"“If I put the work in, anything’s possible,” he said. “I just have to keep working.”He’s kept working. His summer routine, proven by his social media posts, was to get up at 4 a.m. and begin working out at 5 a.m, whether he was in Indianapolis, China or back home in Houston. It was his way of outworking LeBron James.“That was just my mindset, to get an extra hour on LeBron,” he said. “I heard LeBron was getting up at 5:30 or 6, so I was like, ‘You know what, let me get up an extra hour on LeBron.’ It motivated me.”"

Robinson might have a better chance of breaking in thanks to having more positional flexibility than Young. Robinson was impressive in Summer League, but it looks like he’ll have to do more to get McMillan’s respect.

All the changes just a distraction?

Considering all of the Pacers’ offseason moves don’t quite add up, it is worth asking a few questions about why certain moves for made.

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Colin McGowan of Real GM thinks part of Larry Bird’s plan is keeping Paul George engaged instead of doing a complete rebuilding.

"This aesthetic overhaul serves as distraction, too. Paul George has three years left on his contract, and the Pacers can’t yet see a path toward keeping him. A teardown would take too long and the chances of bringing another franchise player to Indianapolis via free agency or trade are slim. The Pacers have done right by George. In contrast to the way the Bulls sold out Derrick Rose while he was rehabbing his various knee injuries a few years ago, Larry Bird and Frank Vogel were patient with George as he got himself back up to full health following a horrific leg break he suffered in the summer of 2014. Bird has given George the best teammates he can find, even if the names have never been big. But a player owes even a considerate employer only so much. If the Lakers are ascendant or some superteam opportunity arises as George becomes a free agent, no one could blame him for leaving."

While McGowan certainly has a point, it is important to remember that under Larry Bird, the Pacers will never tank. Whether it is pride, stubbornness, or part of a larger plan, Bird isn’t the type to build a team to lose.

The offseason was more than a distraction, even if all the moves don’t add up. Bird needs to convince Paul George there is a chance of winning a title in Indiana. While this team may not be built to win a title this year, they have players to build around or assets to move depending on the situation.

Myles Turner is the biggest key to doing that. If he becomes an All-Star level talent, then Paul George has a running mate going into the future. Indiana needs more to become a real threat in the Eastern Conference, but this offseason was a step in the right direction.

Bird talks about all the changes

If you need an example of how much the Pacers changed this offseason, consider that Paul George is the only player that has been with Indiana for more than three seasons.

But Larry Bird is very confident in the roster he built, even going as far to say the Pacers have too much talent at certain positions (though lacking in others), and as always, he has high expectations.

Thanks to Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports for posting Bird’s comments for the Pacers Foundation’s golf outing.

Will the Pacers miss Solomon Hill?

Solomon Hill’s career with the Indiana Pacers was over after he took a huge payday to play with the New Orleans Pelicans, but how much will his former team miss him?

More than you think — at least defensively — according to C. Cooper of Indy Cornrows.

While his 3-point shooting is still in question, Solomon Hill’s defense was his best asset. Solo allowed Paul George to focus on the other team’s best scorer while playing bigger players and keeping them from wrecking havoc.

"Hill was similarly employed as Indiana’s stopper against Kevin Love during Indiana’s final regular season meeting with the Cleveland Cavaliers. With Lavoy Allen starting at power forward, the Cavaliers wisely used Love as a pick-and-pop threat early and often. After he had scored his fourteenth point in the first quarter, Vogel swapped in the more agile Hill to cover the capable stretch-shooter out beyond the three-point arc, a move which, ultimately, prevented Love from adding to his scoring total for the remainder of the half.Solomon Hill doesn’t possess Thaddeus Young’s grittiness around the rim or C.J. Miles’ shooting stroke, but his ability to lend Paul George a helping hand defending elite scorers may end up proving irreplaceable next season."

Cooper goes over the Paces other options (C.J. Miles, Thaddeus Young, and Glenn Robinson III), but none of them have the same ability to slow down opponents like Hill had in the past.

Aaron Brooks knows his role

Backup point guard Aaron Brooks proved winning meant more to him than money this summer when he signed with the Indiana Pacers.

Brooks didn’t need much convincing after seeing the roster Indiana assembled according to Pacers.com’s Mark Montieth.

"“Who cares about me?” he said, shrugging. “I’d rather just – you know what I mean? – just show up and play.“I know my job.”The fact he turned down better financial offers from a few other teams also makes a statement. Winning is his first career priority at this point. He’s never played for a team that went beyond the second round of the playoffs, and he’s gone that far just once, in his second season, when Houston lost to the eventual champion Lakers in seven games.His only conversation with a Pacers staff member before coming to Indianapolis to sign was with coach Nate McMillan, and he heard all he needed to hear – because he had already seen what he needed to see.“The roster,” he said. “I thought it was a great roster, and I felt like it needed somebody like me. I felt like they needed me and they wanted me and they liked my game. There wasn’t much else to say. It’s just a good team. I had other options, but they were teams that are rebuilding. At this stage of my career I wanted to go to a team that’s more established.“(The Pacers) win. They’re a playoff team. They have a lot of pieces and they’re trying to win a championship. I felt like they need a little more outside shooting to free up some players. I felt like that’s where I can help out the most.”"

Saying winning matters the most is easy, but turning down money goes to prove that beyond just words.

Next: Larry Bird Hopes Kevin Seraphin Finds His Way Again

After going so many seasons without a more traditional point guard on the roster, it will be interesting to see how the Pacers adjust this season with both a capable start and backup in that role.