NBA: Top 10 candidates for 2019-20 Defensive Player of the Year

Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers is entering his age-23 season and continues to come on as a defensive force.

The 6-foot-11, 250-pounder led the NBA in blocks per game last season at 2.7 and will be counted on to give the Indiana defense that finished third in the NBA in defensive rating at 106.0 points allowed per 100 possessions a strong last line to protect the rim.

Gaudy block numbers can improve a player’s chances of winning Defensive Player of the Year — it’s an award won four times each by Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace, three times by Dwight Howard and twice apiece by Mark Eaton, Hakeem Olajuwon, Alonzo Mourning and Rudy Gobert.

What could help Turner take his defensive game to the next level, however, is to get better at finishing possessions.

Turner averaged 7.2 rebounds per game last season and a career-high 5.8 defensive boards a night.

His 8.4 percent block rate is impressive. His 19.5 percent defensive rebounding rate (per NBA.com), however, didn’t even rank in the top 50 among players who averaged at least 15 minutes per game last season (Turner was 53rd).

The Pacers were just 22nd in the NBA last season, allowing opponents to pick up 27.8 percent of available rebounds off the offensive window, which is the part of the defensive equation often overlooked when focusing on things such as steals and blocks.

Getting the defensive rebound to actually finish the possession? Yeah, kind of a big deal.

If Turner can make significant strides in that area, the Pacers will be a better defensive team — just based on not having to work as much — and it could vault Turner up the rankings.