The Indiana Pacers were able to take a 2-1 lead on the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals, partially thanks to some excellent defensive plays from Myles Turner down the stretch.
Turner was one of many players who stepped up for the Pacers late in this game in order to get the win. He turned back the clock and showed what a dominant shot-blocker looks like.
While he played very well defensively late in this game, offensively was not as clean for Turner. In fact, he was just 3-11 from the field.
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Following the game, fans learned why Turner may have been so bad on the offensive side of the court. Head coach Rick Carlisle revealed that Turner is dealing with an illness.
Carlisle described it as something that is like a cold. Turner is someone that the Pacers need to be great in this series, especially when it comes to his shot-making.
Turner has gotten plenty of wide-open threes thanks to the pick-and-pop at the top of the key. So far in the Finals, he has not shot it well from beyond the arc.
In the first three games of this series, Turner has only hit 4-14 from deep. He is shooting by far the worst from deep of any of the starters. Perhaps this illness is part of the reason why that’s the case.
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How long it will take Turner to fully recover from this illness is unclear. There is only one day between Game 3 and Game 4, so he won’t have much time to rest.
Carlisle did mention that it was highly unlikely that he would practice ahead of Game 4 so that he could rest and get as well as possible before that pivotal game.
If Turner gets healthy and starts hitting these three-point shots with regularity, the Thunder are in bigger trouble than they already are.
In the postseason, Turner is averaging 14.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game.
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