Myles Turner is impressing veteran center Al Jefferson as the Indiana Pacers head towards the start of the season.
It’s been a hands-on learning experience for Al Jefferson as the backup center for the Indiana Pacers got to know Myles Turner this summer.
Dealing with defending Turner on a regular basis has taught Jefferson at least one thing about the second-year player.
Jefferson said it “sucks” to guard Turner in scrimmages on the Grady and Big Joe Show last month.
He also told the show he was impressed with how Turner stretched the court.
“Myles Turner is something special. Things that he can do as far as playing the five and he can play the four because he can shoot the three, can dribble the ball. He’s like a 7-foot guard, in my opinion,” Jefferson said.
As Jefferson got a better idea about the type of player Turner is, it motivated him to teach Turner a thing or two as well. Jefferson told Basketball Insiders’ Joe Brigham that he plans on being a mentor to Turner and will teach him how to be more effective in the post.
"“Being around him every day, he’s showed me he’s a really special player with a bright future,” Jefferson said of Turner. “He’s a hard-working kid with the right attitude for a second-year player.“It seems like to me the guys who have been around him have done a great job working with him on how to receive attention and deal with what he’s got going on for himself. But the one thing that I wanted to teach was having that back-to-the-basket game, because the things he’s doing already make him a tough match-up for any team. He shoots the three well, he shoots the outside shot, he can put the ball on the floor. If I can teach him a few moves on the block, teams won’t know how to stop him.”"
Turner was anything but a post-up player last season, taking only 21.9% of his possessions there compared to Jefferson’s 51.8%. Whereas Turner was more likely to turn the ball over in that situation, Jefferson drew fouls and scored 45.4% of the time when he was in the post.
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Jefferson also says he wants to help with the less tangential things, like managing expectations.
But it isn’t just Jefferson who is impressed with Turner. Jeff Teague sees some of his former teammate Al Horford in Turner. Jefferson might be teaching Turner to be more like him, but Teague wouldn’t mind if Turner developed more into the other Al.
"“Yeah, that was one of the reasons I was excited about coming here,” Teague said. “Because I saw him last year, and he reminded me of Al (Horford) a little bit. A little more athletic, you know, a little more energized. Al’s been around for a while, but if we can get together and watch a couple film clips of me and Horford, I believe it could work great for me and him.”Turner has a long way to go before he can justifiably fit into those categories, but he certainly looks to be a leaner, younger version of what Horford’s skills allow him to be. Remember, it wasn’t until last year (his ninth season) that Horford boosted his three-point intake to over 100 attempts. He shot 88-of-256 (34.4 percent) and added another element to his game. It doesn’t appear that Turner will take nine years to become the stretch 5 that everyone envisioned after Bird drafted him."
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No matter which Al, or any other player, Turner develops into, it is a good sign that the team’s veterans already respect what the young man can do.