3. Myles Turner/Domantas Sabonis, Indiana Pacers
Technically we’re cheating here, but Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis really struggled sharing the floor together last year. Sabonis might already be too good to be coming off the bench, and with Turner’s restricted free agency coming up, the pressure is on in 2018-19.
The Indiana Pacers could have an uncomfortable decision to make soon if Turner’s development stalls again. In what was supposed to be a breakout year, the third-year center underwhelmed, tallying 12.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game on .479/.357/.777 shooting splits — decent numbers for a then-21-year-old, but lower than his returns the year prior.
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Sabonis, on the other hand, thrived in his first season in Indiana, bumping his numbers up to 11.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game after a forgettable rookie year in OKC. His raw numbers didn’t stack up to Turner’s, but he was more efficient and brought a different dynamic off the bench in fewer minutes.
Turner has the higher ceiling, while Sabonis has a better chance of reaching his. Turner could put this conversation to bed in his age-22 season by becoming the two-way force and dynamic stretch-5 everyone expected last year, or it could become clear the Pacers should move forward with Sabonis as their starting center.
There’s a possibility these two cancel each other out on MIP ballots, or that Sabonis usurps Turner, but it seems more likely Turner explodes back onto the scene as Victor Oladipo’s righthand man after a rough adjustment year.