How Myles Turner can be even better for the Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers have a really good team. They didn't make the Eastern Conference Finals for no reason. The entire roster is full of young players who are really good. If they want to make that final leap to the NBA Finals, the team needs guys who can make a leap in their own games.

Myles Turner knows that more than most. This will be his tenth season with the Pacers and is the longest-tenured member of the team. Last year was the first time he'd been out of the first round of the playoffs in his career. He knows how hard it is to win in this league.

In order to make the NBA Finals, he knows he has to get better. At 29 years old, he's in his prime. He showed that last season after he had the best offensive year of his career. The acquisition of Pascal Siakam helped him a lot. What does he need to improve on?

What Pacers player Myles Turner needs to improve on

Turner was excellent on offense. Looking at his stats, you wouldn't think he had the best offensive year of his career. His counting numbers were down from a year ago and so were his shooting percentages. The reason why his offense was the best it's ever been is because he stepped it up in the playoffs when he really needed to.

Turner shot almost 52% from the field and a red-hot 45% from deep on five attempts a game. Indiana really needed the 17 points per game that he gave them in the postseason. His health was also important for him. He played in 77 games this season, which is the most he's played in since his second year.

So what does Turner need to work on the most? He needs to get back to being the great defensive player he used to be. He's not blocking as many shots as he used to and isn't as comfortable out on the perimeter as he used to be. If he can be better on that end of the floor, Indiana will be a much better team. His defensive rating was 115.2, which is eight points worse than his career average.

Turner's rim protection is a big part of what the Pacers do on defense. If he can be better, the defense as a whole will be a lot better.