Myles Turner, at the age of 21, is still a (very) young player by NBA standards but he is already a budding monster for the Indiana Pacers. The 6’11 big man from Texas put together an exceptional sophomore campaign this season, but with the Pacers operating in relative anonymity as a middling Eastern Conference playoff team, Turner flies under the radar more than he probably he should.
However, that might change after what he did to Tristan Thompson on Thursday evening. With less than nine minutes remaining in the second quarter in Game 3 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Turner gathered a long rebound with one eye on the rim. In short order, he was exploding through the air in Thompson’s direction and Cleveland’s gritty center never had a chance.
The result was an awe-inspiring dunk from Turner that doubled in difficulty based on the way that he took the ball back behind his head and flushed on top of Thompson with ferocity. Turner, who averaged 14.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game this season, is certainly capable of a “flash” play at times but, given the high stakes and a TNT audience, this might end up being his coming-out party from a highlight perspective.
As if he wasn’t having a big enough half already, Turner even contributed a startling blocked shot as the Pacers built a commanding lead.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTIGgw4AU_8/?hl=en
Needless to say, Game 3 has been quite kind to Indiana’s young building block.
