Is Myles Turner the key to the Indiana Pacers success?

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So far, the 2024-2025 season for Myles Turner has been feast or famine in what could be his final season with the Indiana Pacers.

Turner, 28, is averaging 15.7 points per game through 19 games. Most franchises, coaches, players, media, etc. have an idea as to what a team is through the first 20 games of the season.

Indiana might be the rule to the exception. The preseason starting lineup of Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Myles Turner have started six games together. Of those six games, they have only finished the game together in five of them.

In Sunday’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, Nembhard made his return after a three-week absence. There hasn’t been a definitive timeline, yet, on the return of Nesmith.

As it pertains to the current success of the players available, it’s been inconsistent. The road splits for Tyrese Haliburton are staggering:

Home – 22.7 ppg | 3.5 reb | 9.0 ast | FG – 48.1% | 3pt – 42.9%
Road – 11.9 ppg | 3.3 reb | 8.2 ast | FG – 31.7% | 3pt – 22.6%

Those home and road splits are nearly identical when looking at his splits in wins and losses.

When it comes to the Pacers center, he’s averaging nearly ten more points per game in the Pacers wins.

Wins – 21.1 ppg | 8.9 reb | 2.3 blk | FG – 51.6% | 3pt – 42.6%
Losses – 11/8 ppg | 6.4 reb | 1.7 blk | FG – 41.8% | 3pt – 33.3%

Granted, Turner is playing about five fewer minutes in the losses than the wins, but that’s largely because the Pacers have only lost five games by single digits. When he scores 15+ points, Indiana is 7-1. When he fails to score at least 15 points, they are 1-10.

At the end of the day, Indiana needs more from those two players. Pascal Siakam has been the definition of consistency. In order for the Pacers to look more like they did a season ago, Turner and Haliburton need to more consistent.

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