NBA: 15 Candidates For Breakout Seasons In 2016-17
9. Myles Turner
Like with Devin Booker, it might be too soon to expect a breakout year from Myles Turner in his sophomore NBA season. But with Ian Mahinmi gone and Turner expected to fill the void at the starting center spot, the Indiana Pacers are ready to jumpstart the future.
As a future stretch-5, Turner already has one of the best shooting strokes on the roster. He only shot 21.4 percent from three-point range on 0.2 attempts per game as a rookie, but this 6’11” big is going to be able to spread the floor from beyond the arc soon enough.
Even if that doesn’t happen as soon as 2016-17, Turner can be expected to spread the floor out to the midrange, block shots as the team’s rim protector and hopefully improve on the defensive glass. At such a young age, he’s just scratching the surface of his potential.
In the final 10 games Myles Turner played at least 24 mins during his rookie year, he averaged 13.2 points, 8.1 boards & 1.8 blocks. He's 20
— Michael Gallagher (@MikeSGallagher) September 21, 2016
As a rookie, Turner averaged a promising 10.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, shooting 49.8 percent from the floor and showing flashes that he would be ready to usurp Mahinmi in the starting role in the near future.
There won’t be any competition for the starting job this time around, and with so many offensive weapons around him like Paul George, Jeff Teague and Thaddeus Young, Turner can focus on anchoring the defense and knocking down the open looks the offense generates.