Myles Turner is more than ready to keep bombing it from deep for the Pacers

Myles Turner’s 3-point shooting barrage on Thursday should be a sign for the Indiana Pacers to get him more opportunities from that range.

Statistically speaking, Myles Turner had one of his best games with the Indiana Pacers on Thursday when he put down a 22-point, 17-rebound stat line against the Milwaukee Bucks. However, the Pacers lost.

The loss had much more to do with Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s MVP-type performance than what Myles or the Pacers did, but it did shed some light on what a more long-range shooting version of Turner might look like.

Turner went a respectable 4 of 11 from deep, or 36.4 percent from 3-point range. It was below his season average 40.1 percent, but as long as you are making at least a third of your attempts from that range, the math works out in your favor.

Turner’s defense is already elite, but Indiana is just now beginning to scratch the surface of what’s possible for him on the other side of the ball. His offense may never average 20 points a game even with a few tweaks, but even getting a little bit more out of Turner helps raise their ceiling.

It wasn’t until Oladipo’s first injury this season that we began to see a more effective version of Turner, but since then Myles started to unlock his potential. We’ve entered the Mylesverse (Ponytail Myles, Masked Myles), but there’s still work to do if the Pacers want to elevate his offensive game.

One way to do that is to create more 3-point shooting opportunities.

Myles Turner’s 3-point shooting future with the Pacers

Things are already trending in the right direction as Myles Turner’s 2.5 3-point attempts are a career-high this season, if only just. Encouragingly, since the new year, he is averaging over three attempts a game.

It’s worth noting the Pacers have posted a 47-25 record when Myles takes more than three or more 3-point attempts a game. At least at a glance, his long-range shooting doesn’t hurt the Pacers, in fact, it helps them.

When he gets up that many from downtown, he shoots 37.5 percent from deep and 49.3 percent from the field overall. He averaged 15.9 points and 7 rebounds in these games.

So with just a quick glance, it looks like Turner doesn’t end up just chucking it in these games. He still waits for the opportunity to present itself — just as we saw against the Bucks.

Milwaukee dropped their centers back in coverage to protect the rim on pick-and-rolls, opening the door for Myles. Turner makes nearly 44 percent of his 3-point attempts from the top of the 3-point arc.

If the Pacers want to keep Turner shooting from deep, both the ball-handler and Turner himself need to set up the play so the screen is high enough for Myles to easily place himself above the arc for the attempt.

They also can keep a look out for him as the trailer coming down the court as well. The Pacers can wait for chances as they did in Milwaukee when the center ends up too far back to get out to Turner when he isn’t at the apex of the 3-point arc.

More 3s for Myles Turner mean more space for the Pacers

If Turner keeps knocking down his 3-point shots at a reasonable rate, even with an increased volume he appears capable of, then it’s only helping the Pacers. The big defending him and the ball-handler on pick and rolls is forced to come out even higher and stay there for longer to defend Myles.

That means help is forced to come from elsewhere or Indiana’s opponents will be forced to live with that the ball-handler can do on drives. As long as it isn’t Tyreke Evans, then that’s not a bet too many teams will want to take against the Pacers.

And if the help comes from elsewhere, there’s more of a chance to find a wide-open Bojan Bogdanovic or Wesley Matthews waiting to punish the defense.

The Pacers offense is already around the league average in terms of efficiency, but if they can get more out of Turner, and in turn, the whole team, then they could become a top 10 team on both sides of the ball.

The Pacers are already getting more 3-point attempts than ever from Myles Turner, but let’s hope the trend continues because the numbers say Turner is more than capable of carrying a heavier offensive load, particularly from beyond the arc.