How Myles Turner fits in with the Indiana Pacers

Myles Turner was an interesting prospect coming out of high school — the rare 7-footer with a combination of a long wingspan to protect the rim and the soft touch to hit outside shots. However, despite being the sixth best recruit in the nation, Turner only logged 22.2 minutes per game last season thanks to Texas’ highly competitive front court.

Turner wasn’t used in a way that maximized his skill-set under Rick Barnes. Texas ran a motion offense that emphasized moving the ball from side-to-side to bend the defense, but possessions often ended with Isaiah Taylor isolated at the top of the perimeter or one of the big men isolated on the block. On defense, Turner shared a lot of his playing time with Cameron Ridley and Prince Ibeh, two true centers that forced him away from below the rim, where he would have been more impactful.

With all that in mind, it’s fair to say Turner was drafted 11th by the Pacers based on the interest he generated back in high school, not on the development he showed at Texas.

SHOOTING

What separates Turner from the average 7-footer is his 3-point range and he is likely to be a full-time stretch big man in his first couple of years at the pro level. He has a smooth shooting stroke and solid mechanics, flexing his elbows comfortably and keeping the off-arm pointed up on the follow through. Turner doesn’t get much lift off the ground but doesn’t need to thanks to his height and the speed of his release.

Of more significance is the fact that Turner has shown the ability to shoot on the move. He can work out of the pick-and-pop, floating to an open spot and repositioning his body to shoot quickly off the catch. It’s unfortunate Texas didn’t use him in this way as much as they should’ve, especially considering how great of a slasher Isaiah Taylor is at the college level.

Turner’s picks can be effective, even if he’s a so-so screener who doesn’t disrupt the on-ball defender off his path, because the threat of his shooting puts the opponent under a great deal off stress when making the split-second decision of containing the driver or staying attached to Turner.

He has also proven the ability to hit shots as the trailer in transition. Turner does not sprint up the court to fill the lanes in transition fluidly, so making himself an option on the secondary break as he jogs behind the play is how he can add value to a team that attempts to play uptempo.

Nevertheless, as good as the touch on his jump shot looks, Turner only hit 27.4 percent of his 62 3-point attempts and 31 percent of his overall jump shots last season, according to Synergy Sports. Texas didn’t run many plays to get him open, though, and his percentages will likely improve in the NBA simply because his looks will now be created by Paul George and George Hill.

RIM PROTECTION

Roy Hibbert is not a mobile big man but Frank Vogel coached him into the league’s best rim protector by leveraging his size close to the basket. The four defenders around him were told to focus on pressing ball-handlers and taking away their ability to go side-to-side, funnelling them towards Hibbert’s help-defense.

There is hope Vogel can do the same for Turner, who is a far more capable shot blocker with drivers running at him than rotating off the weak-side quickly.

Turner is not explosive off the ground and is not a high leaper, but he can elevate fairly easy for someone with his mobility issues. It helps that he has a whopping 9-1 standing reach. He is also smart in individual defense, using his length extremely well to challenge opponents’ attempts on turnaround hooks. According to Basketball Reference, Turner blocked 12.3 percent of opponents’ shots in his 755 minutes, ranking him ninth in all of college basketball.

GAPS

Turner becomes a liability on defense if he is forced away from the lane, though. He lacks quickness to rotate inside to make plays at the rim if he gets too stretched out along the baseline, often getting there a step too late. He struggles to move fluidly in space and is absolutely not an option to pick up guards on switches.

In comparison to the average lottery pick, Turner is a fairly poor athlete. He is not much of an option to score out of the pick-and-roll, as he’s unable to dive down the lane with the sort of speed that can stress the defense and can’t play above the rim as a constant threat for lobs. He does not have any sort of a floor game to attack closeouts, either.

With his back to the basket, Turner lacked strength to hold his position on the post against high level competition. Willie Cauley-Stein and Karl-Anthony Towns consistently pushed him off his spot in the game against Kentucky, as Draft Express’ Mike Schimitz detailed in this video, and Stanford’s Stefan Nastic successfully denied him the ball.

When he caught it below the foul line, Turner looked hesitant to create separation by backing opponents down, often opting for quick turnaround hooks or fadeaway jump-shots. According to Draft Express, 47 percent of his post-ups ended on turnaround jumpers. He shot 47 percent on his post-ups, according to Synergy Sports, but most of those numbers were obtained against low level competition.

Texas played a tough schedule during Turner’s freshman season — Berkeley, Connecticut, Kentucky, Stanford, Kansas twice and Iowa State three times. He only had 22 two-point field goals and 19 free-throw attempts on 199 minutes against those opponents.

On the glass, Turner is a disciplined rebounder, one who looks to box out diligently and can catch the ball at a high point thanks to his 7-4 wingspan. Because of that, he made a killing on uncontested rebounds and collected 25 percent of opponents’ misses last season. But Turner struggled to muscle his way into inside position against Kentucky’s 7-footers, which raised some concerns regarding his toughness against NBA-level competition.

UPSIDE & RISK

Turner has the potential of being the rare center who contributes with floor spacing on offense and rim protection on defense. But that can only be the case if he actually becomes a good shooter (rather than simply a shooter who looks good) and if Voegel can maximize his size and minimize his mobility issues the same way he did with Hibbert.

The promising sign is that Turner is doing all he can to fix his mobility issues and some clips have circulated of him running far more fluidly than he ever did at Texas, raising the possibility that an improvement in athleticism might actually be on the table.

The risk associated to Turner regards him not developing any sort of power moves in the post. If he cannot keep opponents from going small against him, Turner could become unplayable considering how much a liability he is defending away from the lane.

FIT

Indiana’s roster is in flux at the moment. David West opted out of his contract and is not expected to return unless the Pacers overpay. Hibbert opted in to the final year of his $58 million contract, but Larry Bird has suggested the team would like to move on from him and play faster. In a number of interviews George has said he plans to play more power forward next season, eating up even more minutes in the front court.

The Pacers likely view Turner as the long-term option at center, but that might not mean the future starts now. Hibbert will be tough to move, especially if Indiana is reluctant to give him up for free or for a small return, and Ian Mahinmi is still under contract. Voegel also has a history of not playing rookies right away. It is possible that we won’t see Turner as part of the rotation in his first year.