Pacers center Myles Turner has struggled since signing his contract extension with the team, averaging 11.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 12 starts this season. He faced criticism after Wednesday’s game against Joel Embiid and the Sixers, only to have a teammate immediately jump to his defense.
“I think he shouldn’t concern himself with what people are saying or thinking,” Victor Oladipo said of Turner, according to Jim Ayello of the Indianapolis Star. “He’s just got to play within himself. He’ll figure it out. He’s still young. I’m not making no more excuses for him, but the truth of the matter is he’s just got to find it within himself.
“He’s perfectly fine,” Oladipo continued. “He’s going to find his groove, and then everybody’s going to be like, ‘Whoa, he’s playing great. So what do you think about him playing great?’
“Everybody’s so quick to judge someone when they don’t play well. But everybody’s not in here. Nobody is in his shoes. Nobody’s putting on the jersey he’s putting on. Nobody’s out there playing the game he’s playing. So you can’t really judge him. We have no right to. But people are going to anyway. Me, personally, I really don’t care what people think about him. I love him to death. His upside is huge, and he’s just going to continue to keep getting better. And when he figures it out, watch out.”
Turner is well-liked in the Pacers organization and is in his fourth season with the team. Despite struggling to effectively rebound, he remains an intriguing two-way player with plenty of room to grow in his NBA career.
Here are some other notes from the Northwest:
- Cavaliers guard George Hill will miss approximately one to two weeks with a shoulder sprain, the team confirmed. Hill was evaluated at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health on Thursday, where he underwent an MRI that revealed the sprain. He will now undergo a period of treatment and rehabilitation.
- Stephen Curry believes this season’s Bucks are similar to the Warriors in their first season without Mark Jackson. “They’re very similar to four years ago here,” Curry said, according to Mark Medina of the The Mercury News (Twitter link). “A change of scenery sometimes helps. You get a little boost of energy, a little shift in focus and perspective. And that little bit (of a) difference can unlock something. It’s still early. They’re taking care of business like they should. It’s important when you have that much potential to get off to a good start.”
- Domantas Sabonis‘ solid play could shift the Pacers‘ rotation this season, Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star contends. Sabonis could work his way into the starting center position, which would force Myles Turner to either play off the bench or share the frontcourt with him.
Been watching Sabonis and Turner since last season and Turner has not convinced me one bit he’s better than Sabonis.
Agree 100%. Turner has better defense, Sabonis better offense. I’ve always been impressed with Sabonis being the son of one of the best players in history, so Arvidas can help him. Pritchard said this summer he wanted Turner and Sabonis playing together 25 minutes a game, not happening. Trade Turner.
Yeah, while Turner will be seen as the player with more upside than Sabonis; as of now, Sabonis is quite clearly the better player.
Sabonis has the DNA, the upbringing and the background. He has the talent, the hard work, and he has the gritty edge you’d want from a core piece of your franchise. I’m curious to see how well Sabonis and Turner would play together over an extended period of time..
They’ve experimented some with the pairing alongside Oladipo, Bogdanovic, and Collison, with what looks like some pretty solid advanced stats, but it’s obviously a small sample size having only played that line-up less than 30 minutes on the court together.
Sabonis has advanced in just about every single aspect of his game this year, but yes still pretty bad from 16ft. out..And it isn’t like Turner is a sharpshooter himself, so for then to work well together, they’re going to have to be paired alongside 3 other shooters. I think paired with Oladipo, Bogdanovic, and Collison/Joseph/Holliday they could be effective together. It’s just a matter of them getting some on-court time together..
Anyways, Turner is certainly a talent, it just looks like he’s putting too much pressure on himself. Like Sabonis, he just needs to play more freely, stick to his strengths, and he will certainly turn his game around. If Indiana is able to get both Sabonis and Turner playing well, then they just might be able to prove themselves as a real threat to the likes of the Celtics, the 76ers, and the Bucks come playoff time…
The NBA, as they say, is moving in a different direction, away from twin towers. Indiana also has Oquinn At the 5, and Young for the 4. Myles is still valued and should be moved for a top 4 as Young is also slipping and his contract is up.
Turner’s salary is $3.4mil then 4 x $18mil. If he doesn’t get his 3pt% up, that could be a bad contract!
Knicks are making a fast audition of Robinson at the 5… If he’s not a starter…
Going to have to sacrifice Sabonis’ minutes short term to bring up Turner’s stock if you want to deal him. I think the better answer, at least for now, would be to work with Turner on his 3PT shot which will allow the two of them to space better and spend more time on the court together.
Stop trying to put lipstick on the pig. Turner is not a 3 point shooter. His defense is not great nor is his rebounding. Defense is about attitude and effort. He needs to be nasty….people push him around. You get 6 fouls…use them and get your money’s worth. Turner not a center. Sabonis is. Turner should not have gotten the huge extension with these question marks.
This is the same dilemma the Nuggets faced a few years ago with Joker and Nurkic. In the wing/small ball driven NBA. They will have to trade one of them. They both can play and id b satisfied with either one of them starting on a playoff team. Trade who gets u what u need the most (upgrade for Young or Bogdanovic). And play ball