8 points, 9 seconds
Fansided

Myles Turner is back, meaning the Indiana Pacers have decisions to make

ByBen Gibson|
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - OCTOBER 18: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson #24 of the Brooklyn Nets drives to the basket against Myles Turner #33 of the Indiana Pacers on October 18, 2017 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - OCTOBER 18: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson #24 of the Brooklyn Nets drives to the basket against Myles Turner #33 of the Indiana Pacers on October 18, 2017 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)

Myles Turner is listed as questionable for tonight’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers. He missed seven games with a concussion.

Good news: Myles Turner is making progress in his recovery from his concussion and might play as soon as tonight. Bad news: The Indiana Pacers still are listing him as questionable for tonight’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers.

UPDATE: Myles Turner is playing, but coming off the bench.

Turner was hit in the head on opening night and missed Indiana’s last seven games.

The only upside to this injury is we learned Domantas Sabonis is a very good basketball player and Victor Oladipo can take games over when needed.

Now that Myles Turner is playing tonight, he forces the Indiana Pacers to decided how to use Sabonis and Turner together, as well as Thaddeus Young.

Let’s get this out of the way: All evidence says they are both centers, and can’t play the stretch four effectively on one end of the floor or the other. That doesn’t mean Indiana can’t experiment with the two together, but Sabonis’ rise doesn’t make Young expendable judging off past history.

Turner hasn’t shown great mobility covering the pick and roll and is modestly above average covering the roller. When he gets switched on to the ball handler, it gets ugly quick. While it doesn’t happen too often, we’ve seen how Kemba Walker and Cody Zeller have exploited that weakness in the past as they certainly aren’t the only who can. Turner’s gotten better defensively, but it isn’t ideal to have him playing away from the rim.

Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis of the Indiana Pacers
Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis of the Indiana Pacers

For what it’s worth, Sabonis looks better trying to guard those plays, especially when he ends up on the ball handler, but we saw last season that he struggled as the power forward on the offensive side of things for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

That’s why Thaddeus Young still matters so much to the Pacers. His ability to guard both the ball-handler and the roll man on switches keeps Indiana from getting exposed too often when teams go to their pick and roll.

So that leaves coach Nate McMillan with a few options to try out when Turner returns.

  • Turner starts, Sabonis comes off the bench, Thad stays in his current role.
  • Turner starts Sabonis comes off the bench, Thad stays in his current role but McMillan blends the units more trying to get the most out of both centers.
  • Turner, Sabonis, and Thad all start, with Thad at the small forward position, forcing Bojan Bogdanovic to the bench.
  • Turner, Sabonis start, Thad comes off the bench.

The first option feels the most likely as it also is the least complicated, but the question is whether Domas creates the effects as he does playing with the starters.

The second option seems somewhat likely as well as that puts the Pacers best players on the floor together more often without upsetting the rotation drastically.

More from 8 Points, 9 Seconds

The third one conjures up the most intrigue but also is the riskiest. We’re not entirely sure how well Young would play as a small forward and how much that would slow Indiana’s current high-paced offense. Darren Collison and Victor Oladipo end up being the only two guards in any sense of the word and you need Young to take and make 3-pointers than we’ve seen him do with the Pacers.

In this third option, you need Turner and Sabonis to flip roles and cross-match. Turner remains the rim-protector but on offense plays farther away from the rim to give Sabonis more room to play out of the post. Even if that works, Young would be tested as he now would be covering small forwards instead of power forwards.

The fourth option seems to be the worst idea as Indiana would go big without having the versatility of Young on both ends of the floor. More would be expected of Bojan defensively and that’s a terrible idea. All of the same issues with Turner and Sabonis would be present, but now there would be less defense on the floor. Even if Young accepted the role, he might be less effective coming off the bench and dealing with all of their issues.

The Pacers have a good problem on their hands as three of their players command minutes and bring different strengths and weaknesses to the floor. Indiana can mix and match the three until something works.

Next: Power ranking Lance Stephenson’s most absurd moments

Whether it is tonight or in the next few games, the Indiana Pacers have to figure out how to get three talented players on the floor and get the most out of them. That’s a good problem to have.

Home/Pacers News