With how vital the Indiana Pacers big-man duo “Turbonis” can seem to be to the team’s success, who is actually the most impactful?
Put down those pitchforks fellas and fellets, this piece is not at all an indication that the Indiana Pacers should trade the “loser” of this value battle, simply an in-depth look at how each player impacts the team substantially.
To, most likely unsuccessfully, keep score in an effort to determine a “winner” in this inner-team battle, we will be utilizing a ranking system for four different categories: offensive value and impact, defensive value and impact, 2020-21 season performance, and long-term projected value.
Each tally ranges on a 1-5 scale, 5 obviously being the highest (or best, this isn’t golf).
Disclaimers (This is kind of nerdy stuff here, be warned.)
This piece is very statistic-oriented and I attempt to dip my toes in stats like RAPTOR and LEBRON (as well as the semi-reliable old stuff of course) and some of the said stats have been created in the last five years. This doesn’t in any way negate the value or validity of these stats, they may just be foreign to you at first.
Here are two links that break down LEBRON and RAPTOR if you’re interested:
LEBRON:https://www.bball-index.com/lebron-introduction/
RAPTOR:https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-our-raptor-metric-works/
With all of that being said, here is the “Battle of the Bigs”, starting with the Defensive Player of the Year candidate: Myles Turner.
We know Myles Turner can defend, but it may not be enough for the Indiana Pacers’ big to edge out Domantas Sabonis.
Offensive Value and Impact Score: 1/5
Allow me to make something abundantly clear here; I think Myles Turner is a talented big man thanks to his above-average close-out attacking for his size, solid feel for the game, and real three-point range.
The problem here is context, as Myles Turner is routinely the fourth or even fifth option in this team’s offense, and it’s really hindered his ability to showcase his modern NBA-friendly offensive skill set. It’s becoming routine for Turner to have nights where he doesn’t even sniff his average of nine shots a game.
Turner knows his job isn’t to score, so he adds value on offense by spotting up and adding super valuable spacing that isn’t capitalized on with sub-par drivers on the roster.
The reason for the low rating is the fact that he has an awful tendency to disappear, and it’s very hard to find any favorable offensive stats. His OLEBRON (An impact gauging stat that accounts for role, context, and utilization for offense) is a bleak -1.63 and his Offensive RAPTOR (An impact stat that weighs very favorably in the equation for modern stats like floor spacing and shot creation) is an even worse -2.3. Yikes.
For you box score truthers, his 12.7 points, 6.4 REB, and one assist a game on 48/34/79 splits kind of tells the same story.
Defensive Value and Impact Score: 5/5
Was this really even in question? If you’ve been with old boy Patrick Star under his rock, you might’ve somehow missed that Myles Turner is having a ridiculously impactful and productive year defensively. It doesn’t matter if you look at the tape, the box score, or advanced metrics, they all tell you that the only person competing with Myles is Rudy Gobert who is undoubtedly on a team with a better defensive context and talent level anyway.
The problems that Myles may have had with his lower body at the beginning of his career have pretty much diminished already as he’s put on some real poundage. (He weighs more than Sabonis!)
He allows virtually nothing inside, as by the eye any and all shots that come in the Turner domain are either sent to the fifth row of Banker’s or deterred anyway. I mean, the guy blocks so many shots Quinn Buckner won’t even say “Smothered Chicken!” anymore.
What do the stats say about his defensive prowess?
The obvious stat to look at is his ridiculously stupid league-leading 3.5 blocks a game. At second is Rudy Gobert, who is respectively almost a whole block under Turner at 2.8 a game.
The advanced stuff is also very much pro-Turner. His defensive LEBRON is second in the league at 3.11, his Defensive RAPTOR clocks on in at fifth in the NBA at a +4.8, and his block percentage is 8th of all-time at 9.2.
Besides just the rim protection, MT does just fine on the perimeter and can even stop guards with his length and quickness, and has closeout chops while being a great communicator.
What about his season as a whole? What is his long-term value?
2020-21 Season Performance Score: 4/5
Despite what the weirdos on Facebook and Twitter tell you, Myles Turner hasn’t sucked this year. Anybody who is having a Defensive Player of the Year type of year should give you a 3/5 at least.
The only thing holding him back is the offensive stuff due to, again, context. Turner has been an absolute menace defensively all year long, and when he actually gets touches on offense, he has impressed.
His LEBRON this season has been a solid 1.48, but we’ve seen how great his defensive LEBRON was, so this “low” number doesn’t matter to me. For reference, Ben Simmons is around that range as well. His RAPTOR also paints him as a positive player on the floor at +2.5, which is top-15 at the center spot. Again, these solid numbers are still being brought down by his underutilized offense.
If we ever see a Myles Turner who puts up eight attempts from deep per game (I can dream!), we’d see one of the more impactful players at his position.
Long Term Value Score: 4/5
The NBA is not going to miraculously go back to being a post-up dominant league. Like this article, the NBA has turned to heavily favoring statistics. That being said, the most valuable skills in the modern NBA for bigs are now rimming protection to stop the easiest shots in basketball, and spacing so your teammates have room to go get those easy buckets.
As we’ve seen, Myles Turner is historic levels at rim protection and competent from behind the line, when you add the incredible defensive versatility he also has at just 25 years old, Myles is the perfect option at center for the next era of hoops created by the great Stephen Curry.
You just don’t get bigs at this age that are this talented at skills that matter very often, and the Pacers would heavily regret throwing that away via trade. Unless he gets injured massively, Myles Turner should be playing in Indy for life.
Final Score for Myles Turner: 14 Points
After a strong performance by Myles Turner, let’s see what the offensive hub Domantas Sabonis can do to compete with his Indiana Pacers teammate.
Domantas Sabonis is obviously very good, but it’s time to see if his long-term potential shines as bright as his Indiana Pacers partner-in-crime Myles Turner.
Offensive Value and Impact Score: 3/5
Before you click away from this article, this score is very justifiable and seems to be just right, here’s why: We talked about how valuable spacing is in today’s NBA, and Sabonis is still far from a league-average three-point shooter.
Statistically, his shooting is still far from a finished project, as he’s only throwing up around 2.6 attempts a game at a 30% clip. My main problem is that Sabonis is still hesitant to shoot them, which can really diminish the utility of the reps he’s actually getting.
As a player who is so interior-dominated and foul-reliant, Sabonis can be easily taken out of games when schemed against or on nights where he isn’t getting calls. Again, it’d help if he could hit jump shots for spacing and versatility, but his mid-range isn’t even there this year.
Admittedly, his passing adds a lot of value, and Sabonis’ feel for the game is second to maybe only Jokic at his position, and his six assists a game adds a dynamic to his arsenal that opens up a lot for the offense. He beautifully hits the shooter in stride and rarely misses a well-timed cut. It’s very hard to find bigs that can actually pass players open, and Domas is one of those rarities.
It’s just hard to envision Sabonis as being more than the second option on a contending team. Despite having a 24% usage rate and plenty of scoring opportunities, Domantas’ points per game haven’t gone up sizably. If Sabonis isn’t your lead guy, it’ll be schematically awkward to plan him into your offense, unless you have an otherworldly superstar-level off-ball player, and those are incredibly rare.
His advanced stats aren’t great either, his offensive LEBRON is a measly .40, his offensive RAPTOR is a disappointing -0.8. These stats really highlight just how counterproductive Sabonis can be in a modern offense.
Defensive Value and Impact Score: 1/5
Domantas Sabonis has been pretty bad defensively this year, and quite honestly his whole career has been that way. His limited wingspan and verticality really slow down the Gonzaga Alumni from being honestly useable defensively at times.
It’s a red alert time when Goga or Turner are off the floor, as the other team begins what can best be described as a layup line drill on Indy without any real rim protection. Sure he’s strong physically, but how many bruisers are in the NBA anyway besides Embiid?
Sabonis grabbing almost nine defensive rebounds a game is his saving grace, as he can at least end opposing possessions in some way.
Domas’s defensive RAPTOR is -0.3 (somehow better than his offense still), and his LEBRON is a 1.26. I’m assuming the aforementioned rebounds are helping these out a bit, but unless you’re a Jokic or KAT level offensive player, it’s really hard on a team to play a big with defensive shortcomings like this.
What about his season as a whole? What does he bring for the future?
2020-21 Season Performance Grade: 3/5
The change in role and coaching, as well as playing a ridiculous amount of minutes this season has been a bit draining on Sabonis predictably, and he’s still had a pretty productive year!
The All-Star nod was cool, but it doesn’t mean a massive amount in this situation as so many players are snubbed a year, and he technically was a fill-in. The stuff he does in the locker room production is more important than the great popularity contest anyway so who really cares?
Said on-court production was probably better than the stats say, as he’s put up 19/11/6 on 59% true shooting, which are numbers you can’t scoff at, but his lack of spacing and real defensive impact still hurt the Pacers.
To round out the RAPTOR and LEBRON run for this piece, the 25-year-old’s RAPTOR is a -1.2 and his LEBRON is a 1.66. I don’t think Sabonis has “empty sats” thanks to his talent as a passer and his real rim gravity, but until he can get a real jumper he won’t be a genuine All-NBA guy.
Long Term Projected Value Score: 3/5
Sabonis is affordable, somewhat young, and if he can put on a jump shot could be a very valuable player, but until then I can’t see him being a better long-term option than his teammate Myles Turner due to him lacking needed skills for the long-term NBA.
If Domantas eventually wants the max, I think you capitalize on his semi-high trade value he would inevitably have. If the Magic got loaded for the future for a 31-year-old Vucevic, imagine what the Pacers could get for a player half a decade younger.
Final Score: 10 Points
With the dust settled between the two Indiana Pacers, Myles Turner beats out Domantas Sabonis 14 to 10!
This really just goes to show how valuable certain skills are in the NBA. Don’t get me wrong, Domantas Sabonis is a very good player who the Indiana Pacers should be very happy to have on the roster, but Myles Turner truly is different.
Players like Myles Turner don’t grow on trees, and we haven’t seen many players in league history who plays Defensive Player of Year level defense with switchability who can spread the floor.
Turner’s skills are just so much easier to build with than Domantas, and that’s not a knock on Sabonis! Turner is just a special center to have in this modern game now, and for the future.