The Indiana Pacers have been one of the pleasant surprises in the NBA this year and at this point they look like a surefire playoff team at the very least. There were questions about the Pacers this year because of Paul George's health but also because they lost their longtime starting frontcourt of Roy Hibbert and David West. Somewhat surprisingly the Pacers have gotten good production from their frontcourt so far this season and may soon be getting more out of rookie big man Myles Turner, according to Nate Taylor of the Indianapolis Star.
Turner was firmly in Indiana's rotation at the beginning of the season playing normal bench minutes until he hurt his thumb in the middle of November against the Boston Celtics. Turner's injury required surgery and caused him to miss 22 games before he finally returned, before many expected, at the end of December.
Turner played 22 minutes in his first game back from injury but since then he has had his minutes very limited as he is averaging around 10 minutes in his last five games. The Pacers are currently trying to ease him back in but Taylor expects that after the All-Star break Turner's minutes will go up to around 20 per game.
This is a departure from what Frank Vogel was saying before Turner returned as the head coach was unsure if he would even have Turner in his rotation when he was healthy enough. Vogel's decision to play the rookie though, has been a good one as he has played very well. In his last four games Turner has missed just two of his 11 shot attempts and looks to be a good future piece for the Pacers.
As of right now the majority of the minutes in the frontcourt are going to Ian Mahinmi, Jordan Hill and Lavoy Allen. Hill and Mahinmi in particular have been very good all season for the Pacers while Allen has been just OK so it is very possible that Turner's expected minutes spike could come at Allen's expense.
On the season Turner has played in a total of 16 games and has averaged 5.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1 block in just 13.8 minutes per game. The Pacers don't currently have a pressing need for him to play more minutes but he makes things happen when he is on the floor so more minutes post All-Star break makes a lot of sense.
