Indiana Pacers: Myles Turner’s shot-blocking prowess

Myles Turner has become a staple in the Indiana Pacers’ standout defense. His shot-blocking ability is a big reason for the team’s consistent relevance.

For the 23-year-old Myles Turner, blocking shots has always come relatively easy. In his lone year at University of Texas, he averaged 2.6 blocks per game.

But now he’s proven he can not only do it in the NBA, but he can do it at a high level — higher than the rest of the league, in fact. Turner is on pace is to finish as the league leader in both blocks per game and total blocks, holding a 17-block lead over second-place Brook Lopez of the Milwaukee Bucks with just eight games left in the regular season. It should be noted that Turner has also played eight fewer games than Lopez.

Turner’s outstanding defense has helped propel this Pacers team in some of their most notable wins, like his four-block performance in a win against the Toronto Raptors the same night Victor Oladipo went down with a season-ending tear to his right quadricep tendon, or his four-block night in the Pacers’ 42-point lambasting of the Los Angeles Lakers.

He also has feasted on the Chicago Bulls‘ shots this season, averaging a ridiculous 4.5 blocks per game in their four-game sweep of Chicago this year. Sure, it may only be the Bulls, but in three of those four games, he had at least five blocks.

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It’s this type of defense that is going to bleed into other aspects of the game for Indiana and fuel its playoff push come April. Oftentimes Turner’s blocks are not only highlight reels on their own, but they lead to transition opportunities, which are crucial for now that the Pacers are missing an offensive weapon like Oladipo.

Turner has challenged some of the top stars in the league at the rim, and made them look silly. There also tends to be a momentum-swing effect to his blocks; that is, once he gets one, it sparks a good offensive possession, or another defensive stop.

These are the types of hustle plays that can take the heart from even the best players and teams in the league. If the the playoffs were to start tomorrow and Indiana had to face the Boston Celtics, a Pacers fan could only hope to see this type of Myles Turner in full effect.

Even more encouraging about the budding defensive stud is that he plays with a lot of heart under tough circumstances. After the Lakers blowout, he admitted to playing the game not fully at 100 percent, but wanted to “fight through” a bruised thigh.

He might not yet be the leader of this Pacers team, but this was certainly a leadership moment for him in a statement win.

In his fourth year, Myles Turner has played a big role in a surprisingly successful season for Indiana. While a periodically inactive Anthony Davis may have helped Turner secure the No. 1 block spot, the numbers don’t lie; Turner’s blocks show up on the stat sheet in other ways.

His blocking ability is likely a big reason the Pacers are also currently third in the league in points off turnovers. However the Pacers finish the season, Myles Turner will continue to anchor this team’s third-ranked defense in their postseason push.