Indiana Pacers: Myles Turner Should Start At Center

The Indiana Pacers are quite possibly the biggest mystery team in the Eastern Conference heading into the 2015-16 season. With Larry Bird and Frank Vogel hopping aboard the small-ball train, the Pacers spent their summer moving on from their bruising frontcourt duo of David West and Roy Hibbert and going in a brand new direction.

With the offseason arrivals of Monta Ellis, Chase Budinger and rookie Joseph Young, who joined Paul George, C.J. Miles, Rodney Stuckey and Solomon Hill, the Pacers have more wings than your local Buffalo Wild Wings.

With Indiana trying to adopt the small-ball mentality overnight and so many guards on the perimeter, PG-13 is going to have to move to the 4, a position he’s already expressed some displeasure with playing. This feels like a failed experiment in the making, since battling with bigger power forwards down low takes a physical toll over the course of an 82-game season.

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With George coming off a horrific leg injury from a summer ago, preserving his health and easing him back into the action the right way should be the highest priority.

But perhaps if he had a bonafide rim protector beside him to cover for some of his mistakes or mismatches, Paul George would be a little more open to playing as a stretch-4. You might be shocked to hear this, but that player is probably not Ian Mahinmi or Jordan Hill. It is, in fact, rookie Myles Turner.

As the NCAA progresses further and further into the one-and-done era, the trepidation over starting rookies at the NBA level has grown. Unless the team in question is tanking, or unless we’re talking about a once-in-a-generation kind of talent, everyone is usually content with letting promising rookies hone their craft off the bench at first.

Since rookies these days are usually so young, there’s no sense of urgency in developing their skills. Some rookies take one, two, three, or even more years to fully mature into contributors at the NBA level. But if the Pacers are intent on pursuing this small-ball dream AND making the playoffs in 2015-16, that can’t be the case with 19-year-old Myles Turner.

Through Indiana’s first five preseason games, Mahinmi has gotten the start at center in four games and Hill got the start in one other. In 17.4 minutes per game, Mahinmi has averaged 6.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game on 64.7 percent shooting, while Hill is averaging 6.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 14.2 minutes per game on 50 percent shooting.

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As for the Pacers’ rook? He’s posting 6.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in 16.0 minutes per game on 43.3 percent shooting. The numbers are pretty even across the board, though Turner’s efficiency has been decidedly less impressive.

With the Pacers chasing a postseason berth in 2015-16, it’d be completely understandable for them to play it safe with the veteran Mahinmi, who is a good defender in his own right. But aside from a 16-point, seven-rebound outing in a blowout win against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Mahinmi really hasn’t had any overly impressive performances.

Turner, on the other hand, has been a little more consistent and he’s been the most active shot-blocker on the roster. Even if he goes through the typical rookie shooting struggles, it’s his defense skills that the Pacers need to develop as soon as possible to make this small-ball thing work for the long-term.

True enough, Turner was on a minutes restriction for each of his first four games (15 minutes) due to soreness in his knee. In his fifth game, the young rookie didn’t play for much longer, logging 20 minutes. But in that (slightly) more extended window, he had his best game of the preseason with 11 points, six boards and two blocks.

In the case of all three players, these are extremely small sample sizes we’re talking about. But Turner has recorded exactly two blocks in each and every game he’s played so far, and his performance at NBA Summer League flashed his bright potential.

In three Summer League games, Turner averaged 18.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and a staggering 4.3 blocks per game. He shot 60.5 percent from the floor and even converted two of his three three-point attempts for good measure.

Simply put, Turner was a man among boys, defending the rim with the kind of authoritative shot-blocking ability the Pacers desperately need following the departure of Roy Hibbert. With the team gearing toward small-ball, having THIS kind of presence in the paint is intrinsic to keeping Vogel’s typically stout defense from crumbling.

The Pacers are competing for a playoff spot and that Mahinmi is far more NBA-ready than Turner might be at this point. But if Paul George is really going to be logging heavy minutes at the 4 in these small-ball lineups, the Pacers’ defense is going to be toasted time and time again without a specialist rim protector.

Enter Myles Turner, with his 6’11” frame and 7’4″ wingspan.

It’s not just the defensive end where Turner will shine either. As a stretch-4 or stretch-5, Turner would make the Pacers’ position-less brand of basketball unstoppable in the East. Don’t forget, Larry Bird referred to him as “the best shooter on the team.” The league doesn’t know how good Myles Turner is yet, but they will soon enough.

That old adage “it doesn’t matter who starts, it matters who finishes” may be relevant here, and Turner’s knees will be a bigger obstacle to him starting than anything. After all, it’s only a matter of time before he proves himself to Vogel and moves into Indiana’s starting rotation for the foreseeable future.

But health permitting, that Turner-Mahinmi-Hill trio could soon become a toss-up and when it does, there will be absolutely no reason for bringing Myles Turner off the bench anymore.

Next: NBA: Top 10 MVP Candidates In 2015-16

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