Myles Turner has raised his offensive ceiling for the Pacers

By far the longest-tenured player on this Indiana Pacers team is Myles Turner. A first-round pick in the 2015 Draft, Turner has been polarizing in Indiana. He's led the league in trade rumors for the last four or five years. Yet, he has exuded professionalism and remained loyal to the Pacers.

After signing an extension last season, Turner has fully focused on his play this year and has been exactly what Indiana has needed in recent weeks. Turner has been getting off to fast starts when the rest of the offense has had issues getting going.

Having someone who can keep their offensive game at a high level while everyone else gets into the game slower is critical. Turner has been doing it in a variety of ways too. He's obviously known as a three-and-D center, but his midrange game has improved too.

The Pacers need to go to Myles Turner more in the second half of games

Turner has started to pop more in the pick-and-roll and has found a sweet spot just above the foul line. His ability to hit that shot early in games has been important, but the Pacers can't forget about him in the second half of games. That's been happening a little too much recently.

Against the Bulls, Rick Carlisle waited too long to put Turner back in the game in the fourth quarter, subbing him in with 1:59 left in the game. All Turner did was score eight points in about 40 seconds. He needs to be more of a focal point in the offense when things get tight.

The core of Haliburton/Siakam/Turner need to be the ones taking the shots and generating for others when the game is close in the fourth quarter. Aaron Nesmith is the perfect guy to drive and kick to when defenders collapse. Turner's passing has improved, but that's still something he struggles at.

Even when Turner's shot from distance isn't falling consistently, he doesn't let it affect his defense. His shot blocking has been critical in the month of March. He's blocked 19 shots in eight games this month. That's a pretty strong deterrent for other teams trying to make layups.

Turner is one of my favorite Pacers of all time. He needs to be appreciated more and loved for what he brings to this team.