Optimize His Off-Ball Offensive Role
An issue that impacted Myles Turner was the decline in their half-court offensive production as a team. It showed in the output in their half-court overall output. For reference, the Pacers produced 0.947 points per possession (16th) in overall half-court offense last season and 0.957 points per possession (11th) in 2016-17.
Myles greatly benefited from the gravity and passing that Paul George commanded notably when he came off screens because it considerably opened up basket cutting opportunities. While it’s certainly not the only influence on the sharp decrease in Turner’s frequency as a basket cutter, it played a significant role in that decline. Indiana merely is going to need to add more flow to their half-court offense.
For reference, Myles went from being used as a cutter 18.5% of the time in 2016-17 to just a 9.6% frequency last season. I cannot stress the importance of this because cutting was the offensive play type that Turner produced the most points per possession (1.316) in last season and it is a sequence that is naturally highly efficient. The Pacers should find more ways to create basket cutting opportunities.
Not having the gravity and passing that Paul George provided in off-screen sequences is something that negatively impacted Myles Turner this season. It was helpful to have this layer of the team’s offense for Myles because he is effective as a basket cutter. pic.twitter.com/ajniLX9wCO
— Grant Afseth Videos (@GrantAfsethVids) July 14, 2018
It would be beneficial for Oladipo to improve his execution as a perimeter catch-and-shoot threat when coming off screens so they can use him in those sequences as they did with George. I say that because opposing teams already have to fear him so much in general and his explosiveness, finishing in the paint, and pull-up jumper is already difficult enough to handle. I’ll expand on this in a future article, but I mentioned it since it has implications for Myles.
Turner benefited during the 2016-17 season from being used more on rolls to the basket as opposed to the pick-and-pop when being used as a pick-and-roll screener. For reference, Myles rolled to the basket on 33.7% of his pick-and-roll possessions in 2016-17, but that figure dropped to 26.3% last season. It is more efficient to roll to the basket, especially when ball handlers are properly collapsing the defense.
Another factor that did not help this year was losing Jeff Teague. He was the best facilitator that Turner has played with during his NBA career and not having him to create shots for him did not help last season. Teague particularly thrived at creating shots for Myles in the pick-and-roll because of his patience and proficiency at drawing commitments and hesitation in the defenders involved in the sequence.
Myles missed the facilitation abilities from Jeff Teague last season, particularly in the p/r. Indiana’s guards (except Lance) were not effective at creating shots for the roll man in the p/r and that certainly is not helpful for a player used so often in that sequence. pic.twitter.com/3I6zF30pX2
— Grant Afseth Videos (@GrantAfsethVids) July 14, 2018
I have an issue with the tendencies of Turner’s role as an off-ball player from last season. It is hard to be efficient when the most frequent sequence in your scoring repertoire is pick-and-pop jump shots with a lot of them coming from mid-range followed by a lot of spot-up jumpers from mid-range and post-ups. It helped Myles in 2016-17 to be used far more frequently as a cutter and to be used slightly more on rolls to the basket and in transition.
Turner struggled with his efficiency in spot-up situations, and while he needs to improve his execution, the Pacers need to use him more from the perimeter than from mid-range. He had an output of 0.858 points per possession in spot-up situations, and that ranked 209th out of the 233 players with at least 100 possessions. Improving in spot-up situations will be key for Myles as someone who is used mostly as a play finisher and not a creator.
I cannot stress the importance of Myles needing to become a knockdown shooter in spot-up shooters and being used out on the perimeter more than from mid-range. With lane penetration threats like Victor Oladipo and Tyreke Evans making plays and likely playing with Domantas Sabonis more, stepping out the perimeter will open up the lane, maximize his output potential, and result in more open shots. There would also be more extra passing opportunities and chain ball movement sequences too.
The potential is definitely there for Turner to be highly effective as a player in spot-up situations. He is a knockdown mid-range shooter as he had an output of 0.939 points per possession (within half-court) and that ranked seventh out of the 28 players (first among big men) with at least 150 possessions. The next step is to improve his efficiency and frequency as a perimeter jump shooter.
Myles will need to improve his output on no dribble jumpers in spot-up. He had an output of 0.851 PPP and that ranked 338th out of the 418 players with at least 75 possessions. He has shown potential to be highly effective in this area, though. pic.twitter.com/1HYmu1nUVa
— Grant Afseth Videos (@GrantAfsethVids) July 14, 2018
Myles should look to drive the lane more out of spot-up as he spends more time on the perimeter and solidifies himself as a knockdown shooter from that range. He drove to the basket out of spot-up during only 10% of his spot-up possessions. His efficiency struggled as he produced 0.917 points per possession and that ranked 181st out of the 244 players with at least 10 of these possessions.
It’s not worthwhile to put too much stock into his efficiency figure from last season. I say that because you can take a look at his 2016-17 production and he had only one less possession, but his output was 1.545 points per possession. For the sake of comparison, Turner ranked fifth in the NBA out of the 240 players with at least 10 of these possessions.
Turner’s jump shot could make him a legitimately scary force as a spot-up threat that defenses could fear from beyond the arc as they already do from mid-range if he can continue to develop in that area. A further upgraded perimeter jumper could create scenarios where he can blow by them off the dribble often without having to worry about a rim protector. He could use his size advantage and finish over the opposition, or attract help defenders for pass outs.
Myles Turner will need to be aggressive as a lane penetrator out of spot-up situations as he solidifies himself as a perimeter shooting threat. There are many layers to his game that he still has left to add and this is one of the great ones. pic.twitter.com/JIeVMeYyxL
— Grant Afseth Videos (@GrantAfsethVids) August 5, 2018
An eventual component that Myles can add to his spot-up arsenal is dribble jumpers. It is another small sample size area that he has shown some real flashes of potential so far in his career. Only 5.8% of his spot-up possessions ended in a dribble jumper last season and his output was an impressive 1.429 points per possession, but again, the sample size is too small to make significant comparisons.
A potential eventual layer to Myles Turner’s spot-up offense could be dribble jumpers. Using pump fakes after he solidifies himself as a legitimate perimeter shooting threat and attacking bad/late closeouts are potential layers to this aspect of his spot-up offense. pic.twitter.com/JXEQLVBUiq
— Grant Afseth Videos (@GrantAfsethVids) August 5, 2018
Another element to off-ball offensive production that deserves mentioning is transition offense. Myles saw his frequency of possessions come in the form of transition offense decline from 9% in 2016-17 to 6.5% last season. Having Victor Oladipo as opposed to the slower group from the season before is likely the cause. Turner produced 1.204 points per possession, and that ranked 72nd out of the 259 players with at least 50 possessions.
When evaluating his impact as a transition threat, it becomes clear that he was at his best as a trailer, which was also accounted for 50% of his transition possessions. His output in this area was 1.259 points per possession, and that ranked 7th in the league out of the 32 players with at least 25 of these possessions. His ability to use his length as a finisher and his jump shooting proficiency enables him to check every box as a reliable trailer.
Myles Turner has real potential as a transition trailer between his ability to make the opposition pay with his jump shot and with his ability to finish with his length. It’s a great option for the Pacers to turn to whenever they have quick hitting faux half-court possessions. pic.twitter.com/fpziyLzKxX
— Grant Afseth Videos (@GrantAfsethVids) August 5, 2018
While there haven’t been many opportunities for Turner to fill the wings in transition, he has shown some impressive potential when he has done it. It will be important for him to run the floor hard whenever there is not a legitimate path to an offensive rebound because there are some transition possessions that can result in easy baskets for him depending on the timing. It would be beneficial for him to be prepared to knock down jumpers in these situations too.
In addition to being a reliable trailer in transition, Myles Turner showed some intriguing potential when filling the wings. He has already proven to be a reliable finisher in these situations during his career but the next step will be to become a knockdown shooter too. pic.twitter.com/sVepo4Ee1L
— Grant Afseth NBA (@GrantAfsethNBA) August 5, 2018
Perhaps having better conditioning will allow Turner to be able to get up the floor during the initial sequences more often. It’s not easy to accomplish that when playing with a unit that includes a human bullet train like Victor Oladipo, but when it’s possible, it’s essential that he manages to put himself in the necessary position to be in the play.
The overall success that Turner could have as an offensive player by establishing himself as a higher volume perimeter shooting threat and by adding new dimensions to that area would be genuinely impressive. Having a one-man transition machine like Victor Oladipo reduces the opportunities for Myles to be a factor in those plays so making up for that through areas like basket cutting is necessary.
Next Up: Manage to Improve as a Rebounder
