Pacers Report Cards: Grading every Pacers player through the All-Star break
By Mueez Azfar
Myles Turner
Stats: 53 Games, 27.4 MPG, 17.2 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.6 SPG, 1.8 BPG, 1.4 TOV, 3.2 FPG 52.4/33.6/78.3 Splits on 62.3% TS
2022-23 Stats: 62 Games, 29.4 MPG, 18 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.6 SPG, 2.3 BPG, 1.7 TOV, 3.5 FPG 54.8/37.3/78.3 Splits on 65.1% TS
Myles Turner is an interesting case. After posting a career-best season in 2023, Myles Turner's trajectory was looking up for the future. It also helped that he finally secured his future with the Pacers after years of nonstop trade rumors, inking a two-year extension in January of 2023, which would essentially take him out of trade rumors.
Indeed, the 2024 Trade Deadline was seemingly the first one in years without continuous Myles Turner rumors, as the only speculations on Turner's future came from delusional Lakers fans, as they usually did for every player.
That being said, Myles was expected to build on his successful 2023 campaign, where he posted career-highs in points, rebounds, and efficiency. Did he build on that success? That's debatable. At times this season, Turner has looked like a dark horse All-Star candidate, with Charles Barkley even being his biggest supporter.
Unfortunately, for every 29-point, 12-rebound, 5-block performance where he looks like an All-Star candidate, Turner has a five-point, four-rebound performance where he looks completely out of his league.
Let's get one thing straight. Turner's rather underwhelming block total of 1.8, the lowest since his third year in the league, is not entirely his fault, as Indiana's defense is mostly centered towards the perimeter, which regularly brings Turner out of the paint, giving up easy buckets and leaving less opportunities for blocks in general.
This shows in the on/off stats, as this is the first year Indiana's defensive rating has remained relatively unchanged, with Turner on the floor compared to off the floor. Despite this, Turner has maintained improvement in his offensive game, increasing the Pacers offensive rating by six points whenever he is on the floor, and shooting 61% from two-point range, good for 17th in the league.
If there's one thing we know about Myles Turner, it's that he is not exactly built to be a second option on a playoff team. While he did a fantastic job as that second option before the Pascal Siakam trade, that trade may have put him in the right place as a great third option, or maybe even a fourth if Indiana gets another scoring piece before long.
One thing's for sure, though, Turner looks like a completely different player from just two years ago for the better.