Indiana Pacers: 5 goals for Myles Turner in 2017-18
Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner is looking to take his production and leadership to a new level this season after the departure of All-Star Paul George.
There may be no NBA All-Stars on the current Indiana Pacers roster, but that does not deter Myles Turner. Turner has repeatedly said that this Pacers team is better than people think, and that he feels they’ll make the playoffs this season.
It’s easy to be optimistic at this point in the season, but Turner appears truly confident that he is ready to assume a leadership role in Indiana and lead the club to the postseason in 2018.
Myles Turner has come a long way since he was drafted by the Pacers in 2015. His career began with little fanfare, but he created a buzz by performing very well during his rookie season.
Turner avoided the dreaded “sophomore slump” in 2016-17, improving upon his individual statistics in virtually every category as shown in the table below, courtesy of Basketball-Reference:
| Season | Age | Tm | Lg | Pos | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | eFG% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 19 | IND | NBA | C | 60 | 30 | 22.8 | 4.4 | 8.8 | .498 | 0.1 | 0.2 | .214 | 4.4 | 8.6 | .506 | .501 | 1.5 | 2.0 | .727 | 1.1 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 2.6 | 10.3 |
| 2016-17 | 20 | IND | NBA | C | 81 | 81 | 31.4 | 5.5 | 10.7 | .511 | 0.5 | 1.4 | .348 | 5.0 | 9.3 | .536 | .534 | 3.0 | 3.7 | .809 | 1.7 | 5.6 | 7.3 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 3.2 | 14.5 |
| Career | NBA | 141 | 111 | 27.7 | 5.0 | 9.9 | .506 | 0.3 | 0.9 | .333 | 4.7 | 9.0 | .524 | .521 | 2.4 | 3.0 | .785 | 1.5 | 5.1 | 6.5 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 3.0 | 12.7 |
If Turner is able to continue this career arc, he could be in for an outstanding year in terms of on-court production, as well as his growth as a young leader.
Here are five goals for Myles Turner as he enters his third NBA season. Many observers feel that Turner is a star in the making, and the 2017-18 campaign should provide him with the platform he needs to further develop his vast potential.