With their leading scorer (Paul George) gone via trade and their starting point guard (Jeff Teague) having bolted in free agency, playoff hopes in Indiana seem far-fetched. Don’t tell that to young big man Myles Turner, though, who said in an interview Thursday he’s expecting nothing less than a playoff berth for the Pacers in 2017-18. Matthew VanTryon of the Indianapolis Star has more:
Myles Turner is the longest tenured player on the Indiana Pacers. Yes, he’s 21. Yes, he’s just now entering his third season in the league. But that’s the current state of the team.
That being said, Turner recognizes that he needs to step into more of a leadership role this season. He spoke about his expectations for himself and the team in an interview on SiriusSM NBA Radio.
“I want to start establishing myself as a leader in this league and on this team,” he said. “I know I’m quite young compared to a lot of guys on this team, but the best time is to start young.”
He also has high expectations for the Pacers, and says that naysayers on the outside provide extra motivation. Vegas has them at 30.5 wins while CBS Sports has them at 34.1. Bleacher Report has them at .500. Forbes says they’re 100-1 odds to win the NBA Finals.
“I feel like we’re definitely going to be overlooked this year,” he said of the Pacers. “A lot of people look at us as young team that’s going to rebuild, but we’re a young team that’s trying to compete. We’ve got a lot of guys who can come in and make an impact right away. I expect to make the playoffs this year.”
