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Indiana Pacers: Myles Turner Shows Great Signs In Debut

By Colby Giacubeno

Oct 13, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) waits to check into a game against the Detroit Pistons at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeats Detroit 101-97. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 13, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) waits to check into a game against the Detroit Pistons at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeats Detroit 101-97. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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It was only a small sample size, but the Indiana Pacers‘ first-round draft pick, Myles Turner, showed great signs in his NBA debut. Turner did not see action in the Pacers’ opener against Toronto because of an ankle injury.

But Thursday night, the 19-year-old out of Texas was extremely efficient during his 18 minutes as he posted eight points on 4-of-6 shooting to go along with four rebounds, two steals, and a block.

Turner made his presence felt immediately. His first NBA basket came when Monta Ellis drove to the lane, failing to finish the layup. Turner was there to clean it up in exciting fashion as he turned the miss into a put-back dunk over Beno Udrih.

His first bucket wasn’t the only bright spot throughout his debut. Listed at 6’11,” Turner is a very crafty and shifty player for his size. During NBA Summer League, we got a glimpse of his ability to work in the midrange area making moves off of one or two dribbles. Turner’s next bucket came off a hard step-back jump shot while being guarded by Brandan Wright.

Wright was the victim of a couple more jump shots from Turner that, despite closely guarding him, ended with a snap of the net. One included Turner coming off a back screen from George Hill in order to get him position on the right block. Once Turner caught and faced-up to the rim, Wright was on his heels, which allowed him to quickly shoot over the top in large part because of his length.

Turner put the league on notice before his regular season debut. In the Orlando Summer League, he was third in scoring, averaging 18.7 points per game, fourth in rebounding with 8.3, and first in blocks with 4.3. The big men in the NBA are going through obvious change, as we are seeing more and more centers becoming able to shoot from three-point range.

Through those three games, Turner hit 2-of-3 of his shots beyond the arc, so his ability to stretch the floor is there as well. Although it was just a deep two, Turner canned a shot in last night’s game after Ellis denied the use of his screen. Wright was caught sagging off a few feet and as a result, saw another shot go down for the rookie.

There is often a tendency to overreact to a team or player’s first game in the NBA, but Indiana fans have a right to do so. Candace Buckner had the best description of Turner’s debut via Twitter:

They have been waiting on a dominant and versatile big man since the days of Jermaine O’Neal. Roy Hibbert had a solid couple of great seasons in 2012 and 2014 in which he made All-Star appearances, but Turner shows much more promise than he did.

Head coach Frank Vogel is bringing Turner off the bench behind Ian Mahinmi, which is actually a perfect situation for the young guy to get acclimated to the style and physicality of the game one step at a time.

But wouldn’t be surprising to see Turner inserted into the starting lineup once he gets comfortable with the NBA game. From there, the sky’s the limit. Indiana fans should feel very confident that their problems at center will be no issue for what seems to be a very long time.

Next: NBA: Top 10 Candidates For 2015-16 Rookie Of The Year

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