Indiana Pacers: A comparison between Myles Turner and Rudy Gobert
By Joe Lyon
Indiana Pacers fans have been comparing Myles Turner to Minnesota Timberwolves big-man Rudy Gobert for years. Last night was the latest edition in the Myles vs. Rudy saga as the Indiana Pacers fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves. But the question is, is it even a fair comparison? And if it is, who is the better big? We dive into the statistics to begin to answer this question.
The case for Myles Turner
Myles has constantly seemingly had trade value as a modern big, but in recent years the discussions have seemed to amplify. However, it was always hard to truly see the value of the big man when he was playing out of position next to Domantas Sabonis. In 22-23, we see Turner’s actual value in his natural position of center. So what are his stats looking like so far this year?
Myles Turner on Offense: 17.8 PT, 8.1 RB, 1.4 AST, 55.3 FG%, 42% FG3% in 29 MPG
Those stats alone tell quite a bit of the offensive story. But for years Myles has been advertised as one of the best defensive players in the NBA. So we can take a deeper look into how Myles impacts the defensive side of the ball.
Myles Turner on Defense: 2.5 BLK, 7.6 BLK%, 0.5 STL, 1.2 DPM in 29 MPG
As you can see Myles impacts the game in a big way on defense. He blocks 2.5 shots per game and has a block percentage of 7.5% (second in the league behind Brook Lopez). His defensive plus/minus at this point is nothing special, but certainly shows a strong contribution to the total team defense.