The Milwaukee Bucks made a bold move to acquire Myles Turner because he was one of the best two-way centers in the NBA. In year two with the Bucks, the big man has lived up to the billing on the defensive end, shining among the best of them. On the offensive side of things, though, not so much. It's been a tale of two Myles Turners through five games.
Turner's defense has been superb
Defensively, Turner deserves his flowers for his performance early this season. It largely stems from his shot-blocking and ability to deter opponents right at the hoop.
Defended field goal percentage can be a misleading stat at times, but it is typically interesting when it measures how well players shoot against big men who spend a lot of time defending the rim. Players are shooting 25-of-65 (38.5 percent) when being defended by Turner in this case. That is the third-best percentage in the NBA among centers to defend at least 65 shots thus far.
Turner trails only Anthony Davis (a five-time All-Defensive honoree) and Victor Wembanyama (the reigning Defensive Player of the Year). That's good company,
His shot-blocking is a major reason why, as alluded to. Turner has 13 blocks on the season, with only Wembanyama, the 7-foot-4 defensive ace, ahead of him. It's early, but Turner is also the NBA's leader in clutch-time blocks this season with three. He is not making life easy for opponents at the hoop, and it's helping keep the Milwaukee Bucks' defense afloat.
Without Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks have needed someone to captain the new-look defense, and Turner has embraced the challenge.
Turner offense has been... yeah
In these five games, Turner is averaging just 6.6 points while shooting 35.1 percent from the floor, including 18.2 percent from 3-point land. His 6.6 points rank ninth on the roster, sandwiched between rookies Brayden Burries and Nate Ament. As the second-highest-paid player on the entire roster, that's not easy to stomach. The Milwaukee Bucks need him to flip a switch quickly.
It all starts with the jump shot, which was one of the reasons why the Bucks felt comfortable enough to let Damian Lillard go to get him initially. However, for the new season, Turner is shooting just 6-of-26 (23.1 percent) on his jumpers. He's getting great looks but not hitting them, going just 4-of-16 (25 percent) on "wide-open" 3-pointers.
He can hit them as he's done throughout his career; he just needs to keep firing. With a handful of table-setters like Tyler Herro, Ryan Rollins, and Kasparas Jakucionis, Turner will continue to get his share of wide-open looks. If he can hit them while also dominating on the defensive end like he has been to start the year, his value will know no bounds.
There has been a lot of chatter about trading Myles Turner the second the Bucks have a chance to, but he's showing his value to the team. While he may or may not have a long-term future in Milwaukee, Turner is too valuable to simply dump. Everyone wants to point out the poor offense without giving the defensive praise it deserves.
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