Myles Turner’s Skill Development Part II: Scoring

In this two-part series, I’m looking back at Myles Turner’s offense from this season with the Indiana Pacers, diving into his perimeter skills. Read part one on his passing here.

The modern NBA game is evolving quickly. Traditional big men are fading out of style, with every elite big adding a new offensive wrinkle to keep them afloat. For much of the NBA’s history, the only scoring creation big men did was through the post. Rarely did lumbering bigs set up on the perimeter with the freedom to pass, shoot and dribble.

Now, those aspects of a big man’s game are crucial to their value in the modern NBA. Myles Turner‘s scoring game is fairly rudimentary at this point, but there are flashes of creation excellence hidden within.

On part two of the Turner skill development saga, we’ll take a look at Turner’s scoring creation in the 2018-19 season, what he did well and where he can improve going forward with the Indiana Pacers.

Myles Turner’s scoring game

As a scorer, the majority of Turner’s points come by way of others. He’s trademarked the pick-and-pop, extending it to the three-point line this season. 506 of his 780 field goal attempts this season were jump shots. As for the rest of the offense, there’s some cutting, occasional rolling and some post play sprinkled in there. Nothing too exciting.

The secret sauce comes from the rare, one percent of Turner’s offense that doesn’t come out often. Every once in a while, Turner delights us with fantastic drives or stepback threes, providing a glimpse into what could be.

The expansion of Turner’s offensive game would pay massive dividends for an Indiana offense often lacking self-creation. As I detailed in part one, Turner’s handle is much improved this season. These flashes are just that at this point, flashes. However, there are enough of them to make me believe this could become more consistent.

At the most basic level, Turner is adept at attacking closeouts when the defense overcommits to his shooting. Unlike many other great shooting bigs like Brook Lopez, his agility and speed allow him to leave cement-footed big men in the dust when they sell out to take away his shot:

Mitchell Robinson bites hard on the pump fake by one of the league’s most feared mid-range shooters, flying in the air. Turner spins past Robinson to create a lane to the hole, gaining ground on the shot-blocking extraordinaire before the soft scoop finish:

Turner has become increasingly comfortable attacking off of the catch. He’s not going to blow by one of the best defensive bigs in the NBA, so Turner powers through Jaren Jackson Jr. and finishes over top:

As a scorer, Turner flashed some creative movement when he had the chance to unleash it. When Nikola Jokic attempts to take a charge, Turner euro steps around the pudgy Serbian maestro, finishing with touch with his left hand:

For a near seven-footer, Turner’s speed and fluidity on this fast break are rare. Combined with his passing development, Turner grabbing and going after grabbing a board could have the Pacers dominating in transition:

This is the play providing the most optimism for Turner’s off-dribble capabilities. He looks like a guard on this drive, embarrassing Kevon Looney on the way to a rim-rocking jam. Freezing Looney with the hesitation, Turner walks to the rim unbothered.

If Turner could consistently attack bigs off of the dribble like this, the sky far from the limit:

Many of the great offensive bigs in the NBA have a capable handle. The holy grail for any offensive player in the NBA is the pull-up jump shot, something basically no true big men have in their arsenal. Per NBA.com.

Turner only shot 15 pull-up jump shots this season, draining five. The volume or efficiency is nothing special, but some of the flashes are encouraging. On multiple occasions, Turner comfortably handled his way into a rhythm pull-up jumper:

Yes, this shot does not fall, but the space Turner creates for himself on this play is ludicrous. The rapid right to left cross left Ivan Rabb leaning, watching while Turner pulled up for the wide open shot:

These final two plays are the absolute pinnacle of Turner’s self-creation potential. Through all of my charting, I only found two examples of Turner attempting step-back threes.

Both looked remarkably fluid, with Turner creating space with the between the legs cross before drilling the three. I am not expecting this to ever be a shot Turner relies on, but the ability to knock this down execute this move at all is wildly impressive:

It is important to remember all of these clips above are nothing more than flashes. I’m not trying to suggest Turner is going to blossom into a self-creation monster, routinely beating bigs off of the dribble and expanding his shot variety.

However, there’s enough goodness here to give me an inkling there may be more to Myles Turner’s offense. His passing and scoring creation should be the focus of Turner’s development, helping him take the next step as a dominant young center.