Could Myles Turner Anchor a Championship Defense with the Right Roster?
Is it possible for Myles Turner to be a championship-caliber anchor for a defense? As the NBA evolves, it never has been more pronounced that elite defensive players are essential. With fast-paced, three-point shooting offenses dominating the league, teams require defensive stalwarts who can rapidly adapt to different offensive schemes and serve as the fulcrum of their defenses. Turner, a center for the Indiana Pacers, is a candidate to potentially be that guy.
The Case for Myles Turner
Myles Turner has made a name for himself as one of the elite shot-blockers in the league. In a 2022-23 season, when he started in a career-high number of games, he averaged 2.3 blocks per game, ranking third in the NBA for that statistic. In addition to his shot-blocking, Turner is a versatile defender. He moves well enough to switch assignments; as of the 2022-23 season, he had been credited with 69 switches in 71 games. Despite his length and height, Turner has good enough lateral movement to keep smaller players from scoring easily.
Turner also defends well and is able to play on the perimeter. This is a necessity in the current NBA, where teams are switching all over the place and playing positionless basketball. He is strong enough to guard big guys and quick enough to stay with small ones. Turner being Turner, he understands how to read the game and make plays on the ball. This means: A, he can guard his man effectively; B, he can contend against any player in the NBA; and C, he can make plays to help his team in ways that, if you are being honest, a good center is just supposed to do.
Aside from that, the totality of Turner’s defensive presence is something significant to note. Teams that shoot against Turner aren’t just shooting against a big guy; they’re shooting against a deterrent. Turner being around affects teams’ shooting in a very substantial way. As mentioned previously, he is causing shooters to miss. Overall, Defense is such a relative metric, and it’s a relative metric for a reason. It measures not merely what happens when a team is defending but also what happens when a team isn’t defending.
Could Myles Turner Anchor a Championship Defense with the Right Roster?
Is it possible for Myles Turner to be the cornerstone of a championship defense with the correct cast of characters? Whether or not he can is likely tied directly to those characters. First, and most importantly, you need guys out on the perimeter who can defend well enough to make sure that the only shots coming from outside the arc are the ones that the guy out on the perimeter should be letting shoot. Because if that’s not the case, then easy shots are going to be had by all, and ‘anchor’ is going to mean ‘south pole’ as far as effectiveness goes.
Think about the teams with elite rosters on defense that have found success. The champion Milwaukee Bucks, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, have shown how a dominant interior presence combined with versatile wings can create a championship-level defense. If the Pacers were to surround Turner with similarly top-tier defenders, they could replicate that model.
In addition, Turner can stretch the floor. He shoots well enough that you have to respect his shot, and that makes him an even better fit for the Pacers. He shot 35.9 percent from deep last year, the best mark of his career. He’s not just a spot-up shooter, either. Turner has taken almost 100 3-pointers in 2.5 years, and he’s made a good percentage of them.
Statistical Insights into Turner’s Impact
Turner has amassed a treasure trove of insights that aren’t immediately available through basic stats. He doesn’t just improve by studying shot charts and other surface-level undertakings. If he were only doing that, he’d probably be no better than his peers. Instead, he’s studying shot-making at new depths. And when he does that, he sees how it relates to the whole game and to his whole game. He sees connections. Just like rim protection—one of the things he’s obviously studying, given how much he is in and around the area where shots come close to the rim. But why? Why not study it in a vacuum and just try to be as good a rim protector as you can? Because when he rudimentarily contours what makes a good rim protector, he sees not only how his game can improve in that area when he studies it at slight angles more parallel to the shot path, but also how the game works when assemblages of shot takers, shot makers, and rim protectors do what they do.
Furthermore, Turner’s defensive box plus-minus (DBPM) showcases his level of play. In the 2022-23 season, he registered a DBPM of 2.6, indicating that his presence on the floor made team defense at a significantly better level than when he was not on the floor. This stat really points to the importance of Turner not just as an individual defender but especially as a valuable team player.
As a result, it becomes totally necessary to think about the makeup of the roster. A group of high-IQ, high-hustle, switchable defenders is going to get the most out of Myles Turner. On a deeper level, a defense like that is going to be good against most anything and adapt really well to the different types of offenses it will face.
Potential Challenges
Positive indicators exist in abundance regarding Myles Turner as a defensive anchor, yet challenges remain. One such challenge is a lack of available talent. Turner missed significant time not only in 2021-22 but also in 2020-21 and 2019-20. Trying to forge a consistently solid defensive unit when one of your better players may be out half the time can lead to instability.
In addition, merging Turner with a championship-caliber roster takes synergy. Offensive and defensive capabilities must be in balance. For example, a team can have so many offensive superstars that they overlook the need to play defense. Then player evaluation becomes a critical part of front office work for a roster that complements Turner’s skills with a shared commitment to defensive excellence.
Furthermore, there is another potential problem, and that is the lineups that match up with him. Turner does really well against traditional big men, but he can have some problems when smaller, faster lineups are out there. Coaches and front offices have to think hard about the lineups he might have problems with and ensure that if those lineups exist, they have the kind of complementary players who can handle that matchup.
Conclusion
In summary, could Myles Turner be the foundation of a championship defense? He has the look of all the right tools for a defensive cornerstone. His shot-blocking ability, defensive versatility, and total impact on the game make him a valuable defensive scheme asset. But to really be able to take the reins, he needs something that looks a lot more like a defense-friendly cast of characters.
Additionally, if Turner makes the right calls when it comes to who is on the roster and invests in a defense that is personnel-minded, he could take a franchise farther than it has ever gone. When it comes to winning the title, whether or not the cereal box appears on shelves depends on the combination of the right talents, a brilliant coach, and a working system.
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