Myles Turner has been exceptional for the Indiana Pacers this season. What if he misses out on the DPOY?
When the Indiana Pacers decided not to trade Myles Turner prior to this season, fans had a mixed reaction. He has never lived up to his potential but the hope is always there from a large proponent of fans, myself included. Now, under Nate Bjorkgren, Myles is having a career year.
Turner should be the frontrunner to win the DPOY award but media outlets continue to look past him. Who are the biggest threats to win that award over the league-leader in blocks?
Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
Rudy Gobert is almost always atop the list of candidates for Defensive Player of the Year, and rightfully so. He is a long, giant rim protector who leads the league in defensive rating at just 99.1. Gobert’s Jazz are usually pretty competitive as well, making his case that much more prominent. So far this season, Gobert is first in defensive rating and defensive win shares while also being second in blocks per game.
To add to his list of pure numbers, Gobert is second in the league in defensive rebound percentage, hauling in 33.8 percent of those boards, trailing only Andre Drummond. The biggest knock on Myles is his rebounding, which is limited due to his aggressiveness in blocking shots.
Gobert is not nearly as athletic or agile on the defensive end as Myles Turner but the Jazz are allowing just 105.4 points per game compared to 111.2 for the Pacers. Although the Pacers gave up a lot of points with Myles out of the lineup, numbers alone may sway the vote.
Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
Big media will tell you Anthony Davis deserves the DPOY award this season because the Lakers are allowing just 104.5 points per game and are favorites to win the NBA Finals. Davis is an incredible talent but to say he is clearly a better defender than Myles Turner is absurd based on what we know right now.
Davis is fifth in the NBA in blocks per game but second in defensive rating and defensive win shares through a month. The only downside to this is that Turner has played in 15 games – one fewer than Davis – and has twice as many blocked shots and just one fewer steal.
It helps that Davis is on national TV almost every night playing alongside LeBron and the Lakers, so voters and casual fans get to see him whenever they wish. For Turner, national games are rare despite the Pacers always being in the playoffs. Indiana would not be anywhere close to where they are right now without the help of Myles Turner on the defensive end of the floor.
The media will impact this selection more than any other player if Davis does indeed win the award over Turner but that does not mean I think Davis isn’t at least deserving of consideration at this point.
Chris Boucher, Toronto Raptors
A name that many in the NBA have gotten familiar with lately, especially Pacers fans, is Toronto big man Chris Boucher. As he continues to grow into a larger role for the Raptors, Boucher can become a defensive anchor similar to Turner.
In 17 games for the Raptors this season, Boucher is averaging 2.2 blocks and 0.6 steals. The craziest part is that he’s doing it off the bench while playing just 23.7 minutes per game. His ability to prevent shots at the rim, mostly thanks to his long arms, has made scoring in the paint difficult.
If we observe his numbers, along with Turner’s, based on playing time, Boucher is not all that far behind Turner and is only getting better. Per 36 minutes, Boucher is racking up 1.0 steals and 3.4 blocks, compared to 1.5 steals and 4.5 blocks for Turner.
Toronto is a top-10 defensive unit in the NBA right now, allowing just 109.5 points per game on a league-best 84.5 field goal attempts per game. Boucher may be a bit of a distant competitor for the DPOY this year, but there is no doubt in my mind that he can reach that level very, very soon.
If he continues to play at this level and cracks the starting lineup at any point for the Raps, then I think Boucher will enter the conversation for DPOY before the season ends.
With all respect to the guys mentioned above, though, Myles Turner is the runaway favorite for DPOY right now if you ask me. What he does for the Pacers cannot be underestimated as we enter the middle of the season.