Indiana Pacers: 3 biggest takeaways from home win over the Philadelphia 76ers

The Turbonis frontcourt continues to be at top form this season for the Indiana Pacers

I can confidently say this is the best and most coordinated that the Myles Turner-Domantas Sabonis partnership in the frontcourt has looked throughout their tenure with the Indiana Pacers so far. With both big men ingrained in more well-defined roles, the team has been extracting a lot more out of their outlier frontcourt setup. Their victory against Philly is just another example.

On offense, Turner has looked a lot more imposing scoring the ball. He’s still not as assertive on the post, but the Pacers don’t need him to be one in Rick Carlisle’s offense where spacing is punctuated. In exchange, he’s become a more bona fide threat from downtown, not hesitant on pulling the trigger unlike in previous years. The result? A career-high in points per game with 14.6 and in three-point accuracy with a 44.1 percent mark on more robust volume, a 5.3 percentage points increase from his previous season-best.

On the other hand, while Sabonis has not been as statistically prolific as last season, his more streamlined role on offense as a post operator and playmaker has resulted in more efficient play, with the All-Star shooting 58 percent from the field, currently his highest in three seasons. His three-point stroke has been marginal, and his turnovers are still high, but these only sustain the fact that the pairing still has room to improve.

Meanwhile, the pairing has also been a lot more coordinate on defense. Turner is still his usual DPOY-level self, but Sabonis has been more mobile on the perimeter, which is pivotal as his increasingly viable defense outside the paint allows Myles to be a true anchor at the rim.