Pacers’ Turner finding push, consistency in Year 9
INDIANAPOLIS – From Thursday’s first play, Myles Turner made it clear he had no intention of backing down against reigning MVP Joel Embiid.
Turner was trying to front Embiid in the post and 76ers power forward Nicolas Batum tried to lob the ball over Turner’s head and find Embiid on the low block. Turner broke to the ball and swatted it out of the air into the hands of Pacers guard Buddy Hield, then started running and never broke stride. Pacers point guard Andrew Nembhard hit him with a pass at the 3-point line’s right elbow, and Turner drove to the rim where he was fouled by Batum.
It was the first sign Turner was in the mood to attack, and there were many more to come. He got a dunk later in the quarter when he simply outran everyone down the floor after a made basket by the 76ers, and Nembhard found him streaking down the lane. By the end of the period, he added a 3-pointer and also knocked the ball out of Embiid’s hands for what counted as a block, taking a bump from the 7-foot, 280-pounder but recovering to get his hand on the ball and knock it lose when Embiid brought it up to his head. He played 11:31 in the first quarter — notable because of how frequently Embiid has put him in foul trouble in the past — and that sent him on a path to a 20-point, nine-rebound performance in the Pacers’ 134122 win over Philadelphia at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Jan. 25.
“I’ve just been aggressive lately, man, and I think that’s the way I gotta play,” Turner said. “I feel like too many times in the past, even in the past in my career, I just passed up a lot of opportunities and tried to go with the flow. But I’m very confident in my game, I’m very confident in who I am as a person. I put in way too much work not to get some looks up.”
Pascal Siakam’s 26-point, 13-rebound, 10-assist triple-double in his first win as a Pacer since being acquired
in a trade from the Raptors’ last week was the headline-grabbing event, and for good reason considering the optimism it creates for what the Pacers can be with him in the fold. But Turner’s performance on both ends was nearly as important to Thursday’s win.
Turner’s performance on both ends of the court contributed to their win. He was a threat at the rim and from distance on offense, making 7-of-12 field goals including 3-of-6 3-pointers. He was, as usual, a problem on both the pick-and-roll and the pick-and-pop, and all of his 2s came in the restricted area. On the defensive end, he held Embiid to 31 points — and when it comes to Embiid you actually can put the words “held” and “31 points” in the same sentence because he hasn’t scored fewer than 30 in a game since Nov. 15. He leads the NBA with 36.1 points per game and he scored 70 in his last outing.
Turner helped hold him to 11-of-20 shooting and played with enough discipline to only allow Embiid to go to the line for 10 free throws.
For Turner, it was a performance that spoke to his quiet progression and to the consistency he seems to have found in his ninth NBA season. He’s had more explosive individual performances in prior years than he has this season, but he’s had much fewer games when he’s disappeared or failed to make a major impact. He’s been a reliable force on both ends, ranking second on the team in scoring with 17.5 points per game while leading it in rebounding (7.1) and blocks (1.9).
Turner is in the midst of his healthiest season in years, having missed just one game so far this season after having sat out at least 20 due to injury in each of the past four years. He hasn’t scored 30 points in a game yet this season, but he’s also been held under double digits just twice.
“I believe Myles Turner is going to get some All-Star votes (from coaches) and he’s deserving,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “Our team is five above .500, we’ve won a significant number of games without Tyrese (Haliburton), he’s been a big part of it and he’s been very, very consistent.”
It’s perhaps wishful thinking to imagine Turner getting enough votes to give the Pacers a second at All-Star at the Feb. 18 showcase in Indianapolis following Haliburton’s selection as a starter Thursday. There are only seven reserve spots, two of them guaranteed to guards, and the East might ultimately not have room for more than one more center. Miami’s Bam Adebayo and Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis would seem to be ahead of Turner in line.
But Carlisle is probably right in presuming there will be at least a few coaches who see the importance of Turner’s consistency to the Pacers’ 25-20 record, which puts them in sixth place in the Eastern Conference after two seasons of missing the postseason entirely and three in which they’ve failed to reach a best-of-seven series.
Haliburton is the face of the franchise, one of the most talented players to ever put on an Indiana uniform and the foundation of what the Pacers hope is a return to being a consistent playoff team and championship contender. But Turner has in many ways been this team’s rock over the past two seasons. He’s given them a steady source of production in Haliburton’s absence. In the nine games since Haliburton strained his hamstring, including the one game he played in, Turner has scored more total points (155) and grabbed more rebounds (59) than anyone on the roster.
“He really is comfortable with who he is and what he means to our team,” Carlisle said. “That simply playing his game at a high level is what positions our team to be the most successful. His leadership on the team is a lot more by action now. It was always strong, but there’s not the need to say as much, but when he does talk it has great impact for many reasons, No. 1, he’s the most-tenured player on our team, No. 2, what he means to our team, No. 3 how he works, how he approaches his craft.”
Turner’s defense on Embiid was also a product of lessons learned. Embiid is the best player in the NBA at drawing fouls, averaging a league-high 12.2 free throw attempts per game. Turner has often fallen victim to that and played just 6 minutes and 27 seconds in the first half of the two teams’ last meeting in Philadelphia on Nov. 14. He was determined not to allow that to happen again this time, and though he still committed four fouls, he played with even more discipline anytime he added another and had one of his most dominant stretches after he picked up his fourth foul in the third quarter.
“He’s going to score his points, but it’s just making it harder on him,” Turner said of Embiid. “... I still wanted to be physical and meet him at different points, but he has certain tricks and rip throughs or certain ways to get his shot off that sometimes you’re just not going to be able to contest. Just making it as hard on him as possible, tip your cap every now and then, he’s going to hit shots. But keep running. A big part of the plan is to run the floor.”
Turner has also grown in his ability to stack strong performances on top of each other, and to not allow one rough night to become two or three. His eightpoint outing against the Celtics on Nov. 1 was immediately followed by a 27-point outburst in a win over Cleveland. After going a combined 4-of-17 from the floor in December losses to the Wizards and Timberwolves, he shot 50% from the floor or better in each of his next nine games. That’s kept him from ever getting into rut this season, which is a problem he struggled to avoid in the past.
“In the past, I’d get frustrated,” Turner said. “I’ve been in a dry spell. My 3pointer hasn’t been dropping the way I want it to. But I think I allowed that to affect me in the past. Now, you flush it and move on to the next shot. Shooters gotta shoot and I’ve embodied that mentality. I think it’s just opened all parts of my game. I’m a three-level scorer. I’m very comfortable in the midrange, I can shoot 3s and I can score inside, so it’s just making the defense pay.”
Part of the added confidence comes from experience of nine years in the league, but part of it comes from Carlisle’s trust in him.
“It’s having the good graces of the team and the coaching staff just to go out there and be myself,” Turner said. “A lot of that is a credit to Rick. Ever since he’s been here, he’s really encouraged me to play my game and encouraged me to play within myself.”
As a two-time All-Star and All-NBA power forward with a championship ring on his hand averaging better than 20 points per game for his fifth straight season, Siakam immediately becomes the Pacers’ No. 2 scoring option behind Haliburton. However, that doesn’t mean Turner’s role will be in any way reduced. Carlisle sees ways Siakam and Turner can open up opportunities for each other. Plus he simply doesn’t see that many other players at Turner’s position — Embiid being an obvious exception — who are on his level.
“When Myles Turner plays within himself to his skillset, he’s a top center in this league,” Carlisle said. “There’s no disputing that. This year, he’s done that.”