How the Pacers got the best version of Myles Turner this season
By Ryan Stano
The Indiana Pacers are a really good team. That's pretty clear after the run they went on this season. The offense was of the charts all year long, including in the playoffs. Part of the reason why they were so good all year is the improvement of Myles Turner after all these years.
Turner is the longest-tenured Pacer, having come to the organization in 2015 as a first-round draft pick. Since then, he's had a lot of different hats to wear. At one point, he was the best shot-blocker in the league. Then, he was the prototypical stretch five that the NBA covets. Now, he's a really good offensive player.
This was Turner's best all-around season since he's been in the NBA. While his defense has slipped a bit, his offense went up a few notches this year. He averaged 17 points and 7 rebounds a game. He shot 52% from the field and 36% from three. But his playoff numbers show how valuable he is.
How the Pacers got the most of out Myles Turner in the playoffs
Turner had 17 points per game on 52% shooting from the field and a whopping 45% from deep. That three-point shooting is what makes Turner so dangerous. So how did the Pacers get the most out of him this year? It's simple; they let him do what he does best.
Turner has never been a deep roller on the pick-and-roll. He's best used in the short roll, and that's what Indiana allowed him to do this year without Domantas Sabonis clogging up the paint. When he's in the short roll, he's deadly from the midrange and that opens up his pick-and-pop for three.
In the space between the free-throw line and the top of the arc, Turner shot an incredible 62.5% from the field. The league average is 43.5%. That's an incredible advantage to have when teams have been taught to force the Pacers into midrange shots.
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Turner can still block shots, although he's not elite at that anymore. The Pacers will take the trade-off for more efficient shooting. He's one of the most valuable members of this team and is a big reason why Indiana was a final four team this past year.