Myles Turner was never known as a passer or facilitator during his time with the Indiana Pacers. He could move the ball well and make quick decisions, which made him such a key player in their offensive system. However, he has taken another step early on in his Milwaukee Bucks tenure, and his faciltation has become a real strength.
Through his first six games with the Bucks, the 29-year-old is averaging 2.5 assists. For some context, his career-high in assists per game is 1.6, which happened during the 2018-19 season.
Turner has regularly been able to find the open man, which is a testament to how much his floor vision has improved. Additionally, his presence as a stretch big is forcing defenses to focus on him, which opens up some opportunities for other players in Milwaukee to get open, especially Giannis Antetokounmpo.
While the Texas native is enjoying his Bucks tenure so far, the Pacers are in a bit of a different situation.
Indiana is still struggling with finding a legitimate post-Turner solution at center. And while they should have a lot of time to figure it out before they try to re-enter the title picture, it is still something they need to figure out sooner rather than later.
The Pacers' center situation is a big problem
Many expected the Pacers' center situation this season to be a bit of a problem. But just how bad it's been is a completely different story.
The team decided to run a center-by-committee in hopes of replacing their former long-time big man. And by all accounts, this was the right move. This was always going to be an experimental season anyway without Tyrese Haliburton, and finding a one-for-one replacement for Turner this quickly was borderline impossible. Running a committee and relying on multiple players to replace his impact was a good call, especially since head coach Rick Carlisle had experience doing this during his time with the Dallas Mavericks.
So far, though, things have not gone well for the Pacers in this front.
It's early, and a lot can change, but Indiana's center-by-committee is leaving a lot to be desired.
Isaiah Jackson has looked solid as the team's starting center, but his foul problems have not gone away (he is averaging 3.4 fouls per game), which limits his and the team's ceiling. Additionally, Jay Huff has looked like a huge disappointment so far, and they have already moved on from James Wiseman.
Tony Bradley looks pretty good, though, and he averaged 5.3 points on 70% shooting from the field and 3.7 rebounds in the Pacers' first six games. However, if Bradley is your second-best center, chances are you are not in a great spot.
The Pacers are still early in their post-Turner era, and there's a chance that things turn around as soon as this season. However, their center situation is still far from ideal, and given the developments Turner has made so far this season, the Pacers may have some other big decisions to make soon enough.