Myles Turner Player Review

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All told, Turner started 47 of 72 games last season, averaging 12.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, and a league-leading 3.4 blocks per game. The big man shot 47.7 percent from the field and 33.5 percent from 3-point range.

Offensively, Turner's numbers were pretty similar to his 2019-20 averages (12.1 points and 6.6 rebounds with a .457 field goal percentage and .344 3-point percentage), but he seemed more comfortable with his role his season. Last year was Turner's first starting alongside Domantas Sabonis and it took time for him to adapt to being deployed out on the perimeter more as Sabonis was involved in more post-ups and pick-and-roll actions.

This season, Turner had a better feel for his role as a floor-spacing big. He even had more freedom to do things he didn't in the past, like putting the ball on the floor and looking to drive and playmake from the wing. Turner proved more than capable of doing that on occasion, showing a penchant for using his long frame to get to the rim and finish off the bounce.

While Turner finished the season sixth on the team in scoring, he still was a valuable offensive weapon. The 6-11 centre reached double figures in 32 of his 47 games, topped 20 points seven times, and was second on the team with seven double-doubles.

But defence remains Turner's bread and butter. Turner set the tone in the season opener against New York on Dec. 23, when he matched his career high with eight blocked shots. He never really let up, blocking a shot in his first 46 games this season (and 64 games overall, the longest streak in the NBA since Josh Smith in 2006-07). He blocked three or more shots in 31 games and swatted at least five shots on 12 occasions.

Turner led the NBA in blocks per game throughout the 2020-21 season. Though he also led the league in 2018-19, when he blocked 2.7 shots per game, he significantly surpassed that average this season, swatting 3.4 shots per contest. Only two-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert (2.7 blocks per game) was within even one full block of Turner's average.

But Turner's defensive impact goes beyond just his shotblocking. He contested the most shots at the rim of any player in the league (10.3 per game) and limited opponents to just 48.7 percent shooting in those attempts. Of players who contested at least five shots within six feet per game, only Gobert (48 percent) held opponents to a lower percentage.

Though traditionally one of the best defensive teams in the league, the Pacers struggled at times defensively last season. Turner was the glue holding the defence together, keeping the team afloat with his ability to protect the rim.

On the year, Pacers opponents scored 110.4 points per game when Turner was on the floor. That number jumped all the way up to 115 with Turner on the sidelines. The Pacers' defence dropped off significantly when Turner got hurt late in the season, as opponents topped 120 points in 12 of the 22 games Turner missed over the final six weeks of the season.

Turner was healthy for most of the year, appearing in 46 of the team's first 49 games. But he sprained his left ankle in an April 6 loss to Chicago, an injury that sidelined him for six games. He returned on April 18 in Atlanta, when he tallied nine points and 11 rebounds in 34 minutes (but notably, did not block a shot for the only time on the season). But he experienced pain in his right great toe following the contest and a subsequent MRI revealed a partial tear of his plantar plate in his toe.

That injury ultimately ended Turner's season

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