A lot of the focus regarding the future of the Indiana Pacers has been placed on the development of Myles Turner. In fact, the Ringer’s Jonathan Tjarks even wrote about how the Pacers’ future will depend on Turner in one of his features back in April. It is safe to say that a lot of attention will be focused on how he performs during his fourth season.
Considering how Turner’s development is so crucial to the future of the Pacers organization, I decided to analyze how he can be utilized more next season and what his strengths and weaknesses are in key components of the game. The 22-year-old is also entering the final year of his contract and will become a restricted free agent next summer, so this season is very important to him and the team from that standpoint as well.
Turner is coming off a season with 64 regular season appearances and averages of 28.2 minutes, 12.7 points (47.9% FG, 35.7% 3P, 77.7% FT), 6.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.6 steals, 1.8 blocks, and 1.5 turnovers. It wasn’t an easy year. His playing time decreased by an average of 3.2 minutes, he never saw the expected increase in offensive involvement that many expected, and he dealt with a concussion and elbow injury at different parts of the season.
Before getting into the specifics of how Myles Turner needs to improve to take the next step as a player, it’s important that he receives sufficient opportunity to do it. A player can only accomplish so much within the confines of their role and ample opportunity that they are being given. Having expectations that exceed that threshold sets a player up for failure, and that is what happened to him last season.
There are various types of opportunity when talking about an NBA player’s situation. The two main components are playing time and the prominence of their role when they are on the floor. From an offensive standpoint, the substance of an individuals’ role can be equated to the amount of playmaking opportunity that they are provided by their team, or simply by their volume of shot attempts.
An issue that Turner faced last season was that his playing time went from an average of 31.4 minutes during the 2016-17 season, to an average of 28.2 minutes last season. Another problem was that his usage rate was at 19.5% in 2016-17 and increased by only 0.5% in 2017-18. Also, he went from averaging 10.7 field goal attempts during the 2016-17 season to 9.8 field goal attempts last season.
“I mean, he’s a talent,” said Boston Celtics star Kyrie Irving. “Honestly, he is an underrated big in our league right now in terms of what he is capable of doing. He had a lot of talent on a perimeter-oriented team, so he is not getting as many touches as I would like to see, personally.”
Having less playing time makes it more challenging to produce volume numbers, and it forces much greater efficiency to compensate for it. Myles saw his volume numbers decline, but his advanced figures and per 36 averages were very similar across the board. Of course, it is important that his rebounding efficiency improves, but my point is that the significant change came in playing time, not in the rate that he recorded his statistics.
It’s important to note that Turner has achieved impressive results when he has received a solid level of opportunity. In the 21 games that Myles attempted at least 12 field goal attempts last season, he averaged 27.6 minutes, 19.0 points (51.8% FG, 42.9% 3P, 81.5% FT), 8.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.7 steals, 2.3 blocks, and 1.5 turnovers. There were 29 games in which he recorded fewer than ten field goal attempts last season.
There is more to the story than just opportunity. Myles has been working hard this summer to get in better shape than he has ever been in his NBA career. In the recent feature article about him on ESPN, it was mentioned that “he has sculpted his body from nearly 14 percent body fat down to nearly half that.” He hired a personal chef, and he has remained disciplined with his diet.
5 weeks down, still gotta lot of work to do! #Summer18 pic.twitter.com/CWFM5gPue0
— Myles Turner (@Original_Turner) June 18, 2018
The diet aspect of improving his conditioning should not be understated and let’s not forget that his teammate, Victor Oladipo, saw significant results last season after changing his diet too. Myles noted that he was getting tired faster during games and believes that his poor diet had a major influence on that.
“I took a look at myself in the mirror last season, and I was pudgy,” Turner said. “I was getting tired a lot faster, and a lot of that had to do with eating fast food, eating pizza the nights before games.”
“Everybody told me about my diet, but last season it started to affect me. I guess getting older, my metabolism is not as high as it used to be. … I was getting gassed.”
In addition to changing his diet, Myles has been busy working hard at the Athletic Performance Ranch in Fort Worth with a great team to assist him. He has put in a lot of work in the weight room, on the track, on the basketball court, and also in the form of yoga and boxing. They have focused on improving his lower body and core strength while also improving stamina, flexibility, and balance.
In a video for The Player’s Tribune, Myles talked about the impact that doing yoga has made for him this summer. He wasn’t sold about doing yoga at first, but he gave it a shot and has been a believer ever since. The video provides interesting access into what he has been doing with yoga this summer with his instructor.
The results have been noticed by others, and ESPN’s recent feature about Turner included some quotes from Detroit Pistons star Andre Drummond and new Pacers teammate Kyle O’Quinn. Both players highlighted the fact that it’s easy to notice that Myles is a better athlete now than he was during the previous season.
“He is moving a lot quicker and seems a lot more confident on the floor,” said Detroit Pistons star Andre Drummond. “He already has been a skilled player. Just him losing weight and being more conditioned is going to bring out his game more and more.”
O’Quinn made similar observations as Drummond regarding Myles being a better athlete, but he took it a step further. He believes that Turner could average 20 points and earn an NBA All-Star appearance. Since it’s likely that Victor Oladipo will earn another All-Star appearance next season, the two would be the first Pacers duo since Paul George and Roy Hibbert to earn an All-Star spot in the same season.
“Myles looks more fluid and explosive,” said new Indiana Pacers teammate Kyle O’Quinn. “He is primed for a big year. If he lets the offense come to him, he can get 20 a night and be an All-Star.”
I received the opportunity to observe a full-day of his training at the facility in late June. I arrived at around 9:00 a.m. and Myles was already getting a run in before his actual work out. His workout consisted of stretching and warm-ups on the basketball court, a weight lifting routine, boxing, track work, and then work on the basketball court. The whole setup and his routine were very impressive and deserve stories of their own.
The mentality that Myles has had this summer has been exactly what you would want from a player before a big year. Something that I thought reinforced that notion was the fact that he chose to go for a long bike ride in his free time a few days after a full day of his typical extensive workout routine a few days before I went to see a regular day of his training.
“A goal of mine is to be an All-Star,” Turner said. “I think that is one thing that every NBA player dreams of.”
It’s not just a significant year for Turner as an individual. The Pacers are in an Eastern Conference that no longer has LeBron James and that’s a big deal. Indiana has been eliminated by a James led team in two consecutive seasons and during three seasons when he was in Miami. While there are other great teams still intact like the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, and the Philadelphia 76ers, the departure of James helps.
“It is a big year,” Turner said. “But I think it is just a big year for the Pacers in general. We are not going to catch anybody by surprise anymore. People know what we are capable of now.
“The way I look at it, I have to be that presence for us to take that next step and be that team out of the East. … I am going to do everything in my power to work hard and give the Pacers what they drafted.”
The next steps for Myles will be to receive more playmaking opportunity, more perimeter shooting freedom, and to improve his rebounding figures. He could experience a significant boost in his volume production if he were to be given more playing time and a more prominent playmaking role. However, there are plenty of ways for him to improve too.
Next Up: Receive More Playmaking Responsibility
