The Weekside: Myles Turner is another breakout star in an incredible rookie class

Myles Turner will not be playing in the Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star weekend. That’s probably for the best, since it is an unwatchable pickup game that the NBA cannot make compelling no matter how many times it changes format.

But the honor of being asked to play is something the Indiana Pacers rookie likely regrets missing out on. At least right now. Unfortunately, the funky-haired big man broke his thumb early this season and missed six weeks. He also was merely good-not-exceptional in the early going, coming off the bench and hitting shots but not exactly setting courts ablaze.

That changed recently.

Against the Denver Nuggets, the 11th-overall pick in last summer’s draft scored 25 points on 11-for-13 shooting. He had already been back from his thumb injury for 10 games, but this was his first big-minute outing since returning. He capitalized with a flurry of jump shots, post moves, and transition buckets on top of high-level rim protection.

It was easily Turner’s career-high scoring night, but he bested that just a few days later against the Warriors with a 31-point game. He went 12-for-17 from the floor in Golden State, and the scorching shooting didn’t stop.

Over a six-game stretch, while taking many jumpers from just a step or two inside the 3-point arc, the 6’11” Myles Turner made 51-of-82 (62.2%) shots while averaging 19.7 points and 2.5 blocks per night. He did this all off the bench, scoring as a pick-and-pop dynamo, on the block, and while running the floor more swiftly than anyone of his hulking size should.

His play injected life into the arm of a Pacers team that has played middling basketball since the start of December. His performance was so impressive that head coach Frank Vogel was forced to put him into the starting lineup. Vogel is a still a defense-first coach and, for all of Turner’s shot-blocking prowess, he remains a rookie. So he makes blunders, he blows assignments, he misses rotations. But despite this — and Vogel’s reluctance to have Turner play power forward instead of center — the coach made the move. He had to. Turner forced his hand.

Since the Indiana Pacers began starting their prized rookie, Turner has actually cooled off from his hot-shooting ways. But the team has done even better. Indiana is 3-1 with Turner starting, and a beleaguered, tired Paul George seems to be getting some of the help he believes he needs.

Even without making nearly all his jumpers, Turner’s impact on the energy level of the team is undeniable. The Pacers are protecting the rim better than they had all year, and Turner’s signature moment of his early career proved that.

LeBron James thought he was going to get a dunk.

Myles Turner had other plans, sizing up the four-time MVP and timing his leap perfectly. The 19-year-old swatted away The King’s dunk try and the building lit up.

But as great as Myles has been at times, rookies are still gonna be rookies. In the same game he made his “You Belong In The League Now, Kid” block on LeBron, he also made a ghastly error on the final possession of regulation. The Pacers had the ball in tie game with around 20 seconds to play and he was supposed to set a screen. But he didn’t know what he was doing. He either froze up in crunch time and forgot the play or never had learned it to begin with.

This led to Indiana not getting off a good shot and losing the game in overtime. This is why all coaches want to strangle their rookies much of the time — even the ones like Myles Turner who show some All-Star-level talent.

And there are many with as much, or more talent in this rookie class.

Karl-Anthony Towns looks like a certain Hall of Famer if injuries don’t disrupt his career. Kristaps Porzingis is a mold-breaking phenom we have ever seen before. Jahlil Okafor, for all his off-the-court run ins, has true, throwback skill to score in the post. Emmanuel Mudiay is unpolished but potentially terrifying. Willie Caulie Stein is a force. Justice Winslow plays savvy, smart defense like few 19-year-olds ever have. Devin Booker is emerging right now just like Turner.

So it’s no wonder that Turner, who missed six weeks and is playing catch up, lags behind his peers in name recognition. He doesn’t deserve to be in the Rising Stars Challenge.

But he did light up the shot chart for six straight games in a way that looked like no fluke. He has various ways to score, led by a quick catch-and-shoot that catches defenders off guard. He can block shots with the best of them — and, as LeBron found out, the shots of the best of them.

Most importantly, the now-starting 19-year-old is starting to turn the Pacers’ season back around. He is exactly what the franchise needed for the long run, and he is precisely the ball of energy this 2015-16 Indiana squad needs right now.

If he keeps it up, he won’t ever have to worry about missing out on All-Star weekend’s JV game in his rookie season.

Because he’ll end up playing in the main event.

Around the Association

Chicago Bulls

Derrick Rose spent the week crossing up CP3 and bowing after hitting a 3. It’s nice to see him out there playing well and having some fun doing it. Unfortunately for Chicago, this won’t bring any health to Joakim Noah nor Nikola Mirotic, who just had a second surgery following his initial appendectomy and remains out indefinitely. “He’s on a liquid diet,” said Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg.

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavs had won seven of eight before getting beat up by the Hornets, which manhandled Cleveland 33-17 in the third quarter on the way to a run-away victory. The Cavs also got destroyed in the third by the Pacers on Monday, getting outscored 30-15.

Detroit Pistons

Replay is a good idea in theory. It helps the game be more just. But it also takes forever and can feel needless at times — particularly on the egregiously long waits to determine clear-path fouls. In this case, replay was a seemingly sensible solution to what was a small, minor problem (they don’t happen that often and the minor advantage the give the defense is not even that big of a deal). But they delays it causes turned out to be worse than the problem ever was. It’s like the old lady who swallowed a fly swallowing a spider.

Golden State Warriors

Just in time for the Warriors/Thunder heavyweight matchup on Saturday that the world is waiting for, we have some fresh Durant-to-Golden-State news. Look, this all makes sense. I can see why the two best high-volume shooters on Earth would want to play together (and arguably alongside the third best in Klay Thompson). And I personally would be thrilled to see it happen in the sense that witnessing perfection in my lifetime would be cool.

But c’mon, guys. The Warriors are already too good as it is. This would just make the next five years of the NBA a foregone conclusion.

Houston Rockets

Some reports have claimed the Rockets are looking to trade Dwight Howard before he (most likely) opts out of his contract this summer. ESPN is claiming that this is not the case, however, with sources telling the outlet that no meaningful talks have occurred regarding the center.

What’s the team’s plan then? The same as everyone else’s. “Rockets officials have long believed privately that they will have as good a chance as any team to lure Durant away from the Thunder in the offseason because of his strong relationship with former teammate James Harden and the room Houston has to pay Durant max-contract money while also re-signing Howard,” reports ESPN. Good luck with that.

Los Angeles Clippers

Conclusive #advancedstats evidence that JJ Redick has shot slightly worse from the field this season, but slightly better from 3-point range, since he got his full-arm tattoo in mid-November.

Los Angeles Lakers

Kobe Bryant had a throw-back, 36-point outing in a rare Lakers win, over the Wolves, this week. Sam Mitchell, who played for the Raptors team that Mamba hung 81 on just over a decade ago, has had it up to here with getting embarrassed by this man. “I hate him,” said Mitchell.

There was one cool moment for Minnesota though. After Andrew Wiggins hit a fadeaway over Kobe, the two exchanged a few words and a glance that For The Win compared to what happened once when Bryant last played an aging Michael Jordan.

Memphis Grizzlies

Matt Moore of CBS Sports penned an opus about the current, depressing, uncertain quagmire in Memphis. While his entire 10-point article is worth your time, the key takeaway is this: The team probably isn’t trading Mike Conley.

The team’s GM, Chris Wallace, did not say that exactly. But he did answer a question about the Conley-on-the-move rumors, which are at least somewhat grounded in the fact that the point guard can leave in free agency this summer, by saying that, “we have re-signed every core player for the Memphis Grizzlies.” Conley also candidly admitted it would be incredible difficult to leave the franchise after urging Marc Gasol to re-sign there last offseason when the big Spaniard was a free agent.

These facts don’t definitively prove Mike Conley is staying. But this doesn’t sounds like a team that will trade him away before the deadline.

Milwaukee Bucks

#Wedgie

Minnesota Timberwolves

Other than a tidy little win over the Clippers last night, the Timberwolves have had less success of late since. They are 4-20 since December 21, and Sam Mitchell is (rightfully) taking a lot of the blame. The offense is uncreative, nobody shoots 3s, and the chorus that Mitchell is stunting the growth the franchise’s young talent is getting louder by the day.

But the good news in town — other than Towns — is that Ricky Rubio has been blessed with good health for a long stretch now. And he is threading some insane passes while showing good rapport with the young’ns. It’s a real shame that he has spent too much of his young career either injured or on truly awful teams, but it is a delight to see him have targets for his impeccable vision. Few can see the court like him, and his passes can be equal parts Legolas and Globetrotter.

New York Knicks

Teams are running of ideas on how to try to defend Steph Curry, who scored 36 points in the FIRST HALF against the Wizards on his way to a 51-point and 10-triple night. Many are skeptical that they will get to 73 wins. I am not.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Kevin Durant had one of the coldest game winners we’ve seen in a long, long time, as he crossed over for a step-back 3-pointer for borderline 30 feet. The game was tied. He didn’t need to shoot from so far. But eff it, ya know? He’s Kevin Durant.

Even on this night, however, Russell Westbrook was the real scene stealer. He logged 24 points, 19 rebounds, and 14 assists. Yes, nineteen rebounds. For a point guard. And best of all was him being so very Westbrook after the game when a reporter asked him, “Are you looking forward to Saturday.” Russ, confused, had a follow up: “What’s going on Saturday?” “You play Golden State.”

“Oh shit.”

Philadelphia 76ers

The Sixers are still a joke, by the by, but their problems are morphing, at least at times, from trying not to lose by double digits to executing in late-game situations. After a closer-than-expected loss to the Warriors, the team spent time evaluating whether it should have fouled down the stretch, for example.

Then again, they also lost to the Hawks by nearly 40 last night. So, ya lose some, ya lose some.

Phoenix Suns

With all the attention paid to Karl-Anthony Towns, Kristaps Porzingis, and Jahlil Okafor — and the other incredible rookies this season — it is hard for guys like Myles Turner and Devin Booker to get much shine. But like Turner of late, and even more so since it’s been all season, Booker has been a beast.

He is averaging 16.8 points per game since Christmas, and Booker has been particularly deadly at home, scoring 20.0 per night and hitting 42.1% of this 3-pointers. He has hit 6 triples in a game twice in the past two weeks, including the outing when he dropped a career-high 32 points on Turner’s Pacers.

If Devin Booker isn’t on your radar yet, catch up. This kid might be an All-Star before long.

Portland Trail Blazers

The Blazers were supposed to be canon fodder in the West after losing LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, and Wesley Matthews this offseason. Instead, they have won five straight and would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. That’s a good organization led by an incredible player in Dame Lillard.

Sacramento Kings

Last week we looked at what I’ve termed the “undealwitable”-ness of DeMarcus Cousins. One other important thing to note, on top of his back-to-back career-high scoring nights of 48 and 56 points, is his equally astronomical usage rate.

Neil Paine of 538 did a deep dive to show that no power forward/center since the merger has used as many possessions as Boogie has been this year. There is some all-time ball domination at the root of his opponent domination.

San Antonio Spurs

Coaches are obligated by the NBA’s media rights deal to answer two questions — and only two questions — on air during each nationally televised game. Gregg Popovich knows that rule, and we now have our new greatest Vine.

Washington Wizards

The Wizards got torched by the maybe-best-team-ever last night and have now dropped seven of their past nine games. But they do have Sagat coaching ’em up, so this has to turn around soon.

Throwback Thursday

Vince Carter just turned 39 years old recently, and that means NBA TV and other outlets have been showing old clips of his playing basketball. And watching young Vince Carter play basketball was one of the joys of the NBA in the late 1990s, early 2000s.

People forget.

Vince didn’t become Michael Jordan, so the legacy of Air Canada have been tainted. His Raptors teams flamed out, he didn’t achieve team greatness with the Nets, and he came up short alongside Dwight Howard and the Magic.

Then, of course, his grand sin was appearing in too many All-Star Games, being more popular than he was truly great. That, a reputation for milking injuries, and a Bill Simmons-repeated-ad-nauseum claim that he “gave up” on Toronto when he wanted to no longer play for a franchise that was generally run poorly from the day it began until like two years ago.

That’s what people remember now.

It’s a shame. Because for nearly a half decade, nothing — nothing — was more exciting than watching Vince Carter walk onto a basketball court. The man could fly, and his performance at the 2000 dunk contest was breathtaking.

He also played in that All-Star Game the next day, clips of which NBA TV has been recently showing. There is one where a young Tim Duncan tells the man his peers were looking at like Superman that afternoon that it isn’t fair that Vince has so much hops while Timmy has so little.

Then there is Karl Malone, who was 36 years old at the time. After the game he sincerely explained to Vince that there isn’t much that would get him to spend money to go to a game. But the Mailman says he would take his kids to go see Carter play. The things that the grizzly, cantankerous old man saw Vince do were that special.

Vince never became Mike.

But Vince was Vince. And there was a long time in this league where being Vince was the coolest thing you could be.

Words With Friends

This week’s five must-read articles about the NBA. Excerpts here — click through to read the full piece.

1. Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell is lost, and Byron Scott isn’t helping
by Ian Levy, The Sporting News

Lakers coach Byron Scott has been on Russell pretty much since the beginning of the season, calling him out on the media for being ” too loose with the ball,” for ” trying to take over the game,” and for making ” a mistake over and over again.” Scott’s logic for his handling of Russell has been, at times, almost nonsensical. It’s not surprising that Russell finds himself unsure of exactly what he is supposed to be doing to get better.

2. Inside the Nuggets: Michael Malone flourishing after Kings disappointment
by Michael Lee, Yahoo Sports

Before they begin a 45-minute film session to break down the breakdowns and devise a practice plan … coaches shake their heads or bury them as they watch Nuggets players gaze in the air and not box out as Thunder backup big man Enes Kanter consistently beats them to the ball. “They kicked our ass on the glass,” Malone says as most of the room nods in agreement. Russell Westbrook later streaks down the lane untouched for a vicious dunk. Malone wonders aloud how, in a seven-point game with three minutes left, “the [expletive] paint is like the parting of the Red Sea. That is without fathom – unfathomable!”

3. Good luck getting a point guard in the 2016 NBA free agent frenzy
by Tom Ziller, SB Nation

There’s only one max-money point guard in the free agent class: Mike Conley, who is our No. 5 free agent overall. Conley has never been an NBA All-Star. The next four point guards in our rankings are Brandon Jennings (No. 24), Rajon Rondo (No. 27), Matthew Dellavedova (No. 33) and Deron Williams (No. 41). All four of those guys are having nice seasons and can help your team, but they also have significant question marks. The next five point guards shouldn’t be starters in the NBA except in special circumstances: Greivis Vasquez (No. 57), Jerryd Bayless (No. 58), Shaun Livingston (No. 59), Jeremy Lin (No. 63) and two-time NBA champion Mario Chalmers (No. 68).

4. Predicting the Finals, trades, hot seat and more
by Sports Illustrated

David Griffin says Love won’t go anywhere. But the coaching change likely won’t be the last move we see for Cleveland. The rumors surrounding Love never quite seem to go away, and he’s the type of asset that could help the Cavs restructure their personnel in one swing. David Griffin’s had an itchy trigger finger in the past, there are teams with cap space that can offer some veteran depth. With Cleveland’s surplus of bigs and need on the wing and on the bench, I wouldn’t be shocked if this happens anyway

5. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Breaks Down the Art of Perimeter Defense
by Jared Zwerling, NBPA.com

The third-year player is averaging the second-most minutes per game in the NBA (37.4), narrowly trailing Jimmy Butler (38.3). While Caldwell-Pope, 22, has upped his scoring to 14.9 points per game, he’s quickly jumped into the conversation for the All-Defensive First Team this season. “Phenomenal. That kid is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league — KCP locks up,” said his teammate Reggie Jackson earlier this season. “It’s not a fluke — what KCP does on defense night in and night out is not a fluke.”