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Raptors fan from the Raptors board. I come in peace. I got into it with an acquaintance the other day who suggested Myles Turner is outright a 5. Like he shouldn't/couldn't play the 4 position. Is that true? I know he is playing the 5 primarily right now because your bigs rotation with Jefferson etc. is underwhelming, but I think of Myles Turner as an Anthony Davis lite whose skills are emerging. I've heard him compared to Chris Bosh before as well. I think he can stretch the floor a little (he's improved his shot considerably since last season) and can also play against the vast majority of NBA 4's. I ask in part because I wonder if he would be playing the 5 less if you had one more solid big in your rotation. As a Raptor fan I imagined JV and Turner playing side by side, but it could be any other big, really.

So tl;dr - is Turner a 5 or a 4/5 combo and do you think that he would be a good fit beside a big like JV?

(For the record, I know he's not being traded, especially not to the Raps and I also know this scenario is completely fictional. I'm just wondering.)

I think Turner would be fine at the 4. He struggles when he has to step out on the floor and defend the 3 and would likely also struggle handling a quicker player off the dribble. But, I think he has improved in this area. Could he play next JV? Sure. You would need a mobile guy as a 3rd big for certain situations.

I think an argument can be made that the most damaging missing piece for this Pacer team is a physical defensive minded center (a guy like Koufas would be fine). Plug him into the starting lineup and let Myles start at the 4. Wouldn't see this big needing to play more the 20 minutes or so a night. I can think of at least two games the Pacers have lost to otherwise inferior teams because we were simply pounded on the offensive glass.

Agree with the man above. Turner absolutely has the offensive skill set to play the 4. His issue with being a 4 at the moment would be on the defensive end.

Pacers_Freak wrote:Agree with the man above. Turner absolutely has the offensive skill set to play the 4. His issue with being a 4 at the moment would be on the defensive end.

Thanks much. I am asking primarily about his defensive skills. Like I think he is quick enough to stay with 4's but he just lacks awareness sometimes. I am wondering whether his pick and roll defense would be good enough to play with a big like Valanciunas who would need someone (like a Patrick Patterson currently) to compensate for his lack of quickness.

8305 wrote:I think Turner would be fine at the 4. He struggles when he has to step out on the floor and defend the 3 and would likely also struggle handling a quicker player off the dribble. But, I think he has improved in this area. Could he play next JV? Sure. You would need a mobile guy as a 3rd big for certain situations.

I think an argument can be made that the most damaging missing piece for this Pacer team is a physical defensive minded center (a guy like Koufas would be fine). Plug him into the starting lineup and let Myles start at the 4. Wouldn't see this big needing to play more the 20 minutes or so a night. I can think of at least two games the Pacers have lost to otherwise inferior teams because we were simply pounded on the offensive glass.

See, this is what I was thinking after seeing JV go to work against you guys in the playoffs. It's too bad Al Jefferson doesn't do that for you. If you guys had JV on your team, would you play him around 28 min and shift Turner to the 4 at times to get Myles into that early to mid 30's range of minutes? I feel like that would be an ideal scenario. Just looking for your perspectives.

As a Raps fan I would be ecstatic about a young big like Turner and I'm glad you guys have two solid pieces in PG and Turner to build around.

Merit wrote:

8305 wrote:I think Turner would be fine at the 4. He struggles when he has to step out on the floor and defend the 3 and would likely also struggle handling a quicker player off the dribble. But, I think he has improved in this area. Could he play next JV? Sure. You would need a mobile guy as a 3rd big for certain situations.

I think an argument can be made that the most damaging missing piece for this Pacer team is a physical defensive minded center (a guy like Koufas would be fine). Plug him into the starting lineup and let Myles start at the 4. Wouldn't see this big needing to play more the 20 minutes or so a night. I can think of at least two games the Pacers have lost to otherwise inferior teams because we were simply pounded on the offensive glass.

See, this is what I was thinking after seeing JV go to work against you guys in the playoffs. It's too bad Al Jefferson doesn't do that for you. If you guys had JV on your team, would you play him around 28 min and shift Turner to the 4 at times to get Myles into that early to mid 30's range of minutes? I feel like that would be an ideal scenario. Just looking for your perspectives.

As a Raps fan I would be ecstatic about a young big like Turner and I'm glad you guys have two solid pieces in PG and Turner to build around.

I am guessing that was Larry's idea of bringing Al in. Larry just forgot he was 62 years old. We do have 2 really solid pieces. I just hope PG has the same mindset as DDR did in building it where he is.

Pacers_Freak wrote:

Merit wrote:

8305 wrote:I think Turner would be fine at the 4. He struggles when he has to step out on the floor and defend the 3 and would likely also struggle handling a quicker player off the dribble. But, I think he has improved in this area. Could he play next JV? Sure. You would need a mobile guy as a 3rd big for certain situations.

I think an argument can be made that the most damaging missing piece for this Pacer team is a physical defensive minded center (a guy like Koufas would be fine). Plug him into the starting lineup and let Myles start at the 4. Wouldn't see this big needing to play more the 20 minutes or so a night. I can think of at least two games the Pacers have lost to otherwise inferior teams because we were simply pounded on the offensive glass.

See, this is what I was thinking after seeing JV go to work against you guys in the playoffs. It's too bad Al Jefferson doesn't do that for you. If you guys had JV on your team, would you play him around 28 min and shift Turner to the 4 at times to get Myles into that early to mid 30's range of minutes? I feel like that would be an ideal scenario. Just looking for your perspectives.

As a Raps fan I would be ecstatic about a young big like Turner and I'm glad you guys have two solid pieces in PG and Turner to build around.

I am guessing that was Larry's idea of bringing Al in. Larry just forgot he was 62 years old. We do have 2 really solid pieces. I just hope PG has the same mindset as DDR did in building it where he is.

Yeah, he's definitely saying the right things though. Defensively? Turner can play the 4 alongside say Koufos? I was reading about how he's making better reads and moving up a bit more defensively.

Turner did play the 4 last year with Mahinmi playing the 5, but our long term plan has him at 5. he's not going anywhere though as Turner and PG are the two pieces we're building around.