Latest news with #MylesTurner
Indianapolis Star
6 hours ago
- Lifestyle
- Indianapolis Star
'We thrive off of it.' Pacers are used to being underdogs — individually and collectively
INDIANAPOLIS – Myles Turner has said many times in the past one of the things he likes most about this Pacers team is none of his teammates have had a clear path to stardom. Most of them have been doubted, some even given up on, and they all operate with the level of motivation that comes from feeling like you always have something to prove. "We thrive off of it," Turner said. "... It definitely drives us, going through adversity and what not. I personally wouldn't have it any other way." Adversity has hit at different places and in different ways for each of the Pacers' key pieces, but all of them had reason to believe being in this NBA Finals in the roles they're in would be out of their reach. All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton often jokes he was a "zero-star" recruit in high school, as he didn't get high-major offers until the summer before his senior year of high school with college scared off by his skinny frame and funky-looking jump shot. Even after proving so many doubters wrong and earning All-NBA honors in back-to-back seasons he was still named the NBA's most overrated player in an anonymous poll of players run by The Athletic. Just 13 of 90 players who answered that question picked Haliburton, but he was still the most frequently named answer. Father's Day gift: Pacers commemorative book All-Star forward Pascal Siakam grew up in Cameroon and never played basketball at any serious level until he graduated seminary school at 18 and he's still driven by a sense he's catching up to players who have been involved in the sport since they were toddlers. Do-everything wing Aaron Nesmith was a bit of a late-bloomer in high school and after being taken with the No. 14 pick in the 2020 draft he was buried on Boston's wing depth chart behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown before the Celtics traded him away in the deal that brought them Malcolm Brogdon. Ace defender Andrew Nembhard entered the league as a second-round pick and Turner spent much of a two-year period with the Pacers hearing his name in so many trade rumors he started openly predicting a deal. Veteran backup point guard T.J. McConnell caught on in the league and has now played 10 years despite being very undersized by NBA standards and undrafted. Forward Obi Toppin has found a place with the Pacers after being stuck on the bench with the Knicks for three years. Bennedict Mathurin battled tough times growing up in Montreal that included the loss of his older brother. Ben Sheppard barely registered as a high school recruit and played his college basketball at mid-major Belmont. Big men Thomas Bryant and Tony Bradley thought their careers might be finished before the Pacers picked them up over the course of this season with Bryant stuck on Miami's bench and Bradley having been stuck in the G League for more than a year. And their head coach has been doubted on more than one occasion, too. Rick Carlisle was an assistant coach for Larry Bird on the last Pacers team that made the Finals and he had hoped to be the head coach when Bird left, but the Pacers instead went with Isiah Thomas. In his first head coaching job, he rebuilt the Pistons into a playoff team and was named NBA Coach of the Year, but then was fired after just two seasons. The Pistons then hired Larry Brown who got to pick up where Carlisle left off and ended up leading Detroit to the 2003-04 NBA title. "We've all been doubted at some point in time of our lives," Carlisle said. "You look in the mirror, you gotta face the doubts and you decide, how are you going to go forward? Are you going to fight through and find a way or are you going to find an excuse. Our team is a bunch of guys who have found a way in a lot of different situations." That shared experience has a lot to do with the Pacers' cohesion. That's part of what makes this team unselfish. They see themselves in each other and recognize the way their teammates have earned their way into the league They celebrate each other's victories, so they're happy to share the basketball, communicate on defense and generally lift each other up. Buying into the collective goals has helped them turn what was a 25-win team in 2021-22 to a 47-win team last year and a 50-win team this year with last year's Eastern Conference Finals run turning to this year's trip to the Finals. These Pacers are historically used to being underdogs, so the fact they're not favored in this series against the Thunder doesn't bother them in the slightest. The Pacers have been underdogs in almost every playoff series they've been involved in including the Eastern Conference semifinals and finals in which they took down the Cavs and Knicks. It bothers them little that the Thunder, who won 68 games this year, are -700 favorites to win this series. "It's rang true for most of us our whole careers," Haliburton said. "This is just another stepping stone to it. We're all doubted in this series. There was not expectations for us to get here externally, obviously so we just have to approach it the right way, approach it the way we've approached every game, the way we approach every day. No one is expecting us to win except for the guys in this locker room we believe. I think that's the exciting part about it. When you get to prove people wrong, it's exciting." Of course, they also know that as much as the Thunder are the favorites in this series, they have plenty of players who have been doubted as well. Their MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was traded to the Thunder from the Clippers in his rookie year in the Paul George trade. Their ace defender Luguentz Dort was undrafted out of Arizona State. Their second leading scorer Jalen Williams played his college ball at Santa Clara. Their other ace defender Alex Caruso spent a year in the G League after college before he caught on with any NBA team and spent his first two seasons on a two-way contract. Among the coaches who admittedly doubted Caruso was Rick Carlisle, though Caruso now has an NBA title and an All-Defensive team nod to his name. "We had Alex Caruso in a free agent camp in Dallas in 2015 (probably 2016) and passed on bringing him into Summer League," Carlisle said. "They have great stories too. I think that makes it a compelling matchup."
New York Post
8 hours ago
- Climate
- New York Post
Pacers' trip to Oklahoma City for NBA Finals delayed by severe weather
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Indiana Pacers waited 25 years to get back to the NBA Finals. And then they waited a few more hours to actually get to the NBA Finals. Advertisement The Pacers' travel plans to the NBA Finals were impacted Tuesday by severe weather. The team's charter was first diverted to Tulsa, Oklahoma — and then, after refueling there, the plane took a scenic route around another band of weather before finally landing in Oklahoma City about 3 1/2 hours behind schedule. It was sunny when the team arrived around 7 p.m. local time. That wasn't the case an hour or so earlier. Forecasters had issued a tornado warning, flood watch and severe thunderstorm watch for Oklahoma City and much of the surrounding areas on Tuesday afternoon, all while the Pacers' charter flight out of Indianapolis was in the air. Advertisement The flight was diverted and Oklahoma City's airport arrivals and departures were interrupted by heavy rain and wind. Delays were expected to impact other flights coming into Oklahoma City for much of the evening. The Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder are scheduled to appear at the NBA Finals media day on Wednesday at the arena that will host Game 1 of the title series on Thursday night. Myles Turner talks with TNT's Ernie Johnson after the Pacers' Game 6 Eastern Conference-clinching win over the Knicks. NBAE via Getty Images Advertisement It's the first finals appearance for the Pacers since 2000 and the first for the Thunder since 2012. 'You spend so much time thinking about getting there, but it's like, you're here now,' Pacers center Myles Turner said before the team left Indianapolis. 'You didn't really spend a lot of time thinking about, 'OK, when I'm here, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that.' It's like, 'Let's just get there.' So now, that milestone has been achieved. It's about doing something with the opportunity.' There was at least one tornado spotted in Norman, Oklahoma, near the University of Oklahoma campus, on Tuesday afternoon when the Pacers were waiting things out in Tulsa. It was not immediately known if the tornado touched down or caused any damage. Advertisement Norman is about 20 miles south of Oklahoma City. Tulsa is about 120 miles northeast of Oklahoma City.
Associated Press
10 hours ago
- General
- Associated Press
Thunder open NBA Finals against the Pacers
Indiana Pacers (50-32, fourth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (68-14, first in the Western Conference) Oklahoma City; Thursday, 8:30 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Thunder -9.5; over/under is 231 NBA FINALS: Thunder host first series matchup BOTTOM LINE: The Oklahoma City Thunder host the Indiana Pacers in game one of the NBA Finals. Oklahoma City went 2-0 against Indiana during the regular season. The Thunder won the last regular season matchup 132-111 on Sunday, March 30 led by 33 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, while Tyrese Haliburton scored 18 points for the Pacers. The Thunder are 36-6 on their home court. Oklahoma City ranks sixth in the league averaging 14.5 made 3-pointers per game while shooting 37.4% from downtown. Isaiah Joe leads the team averaging 2.6 makes while shooting 41.2% from 3-point range. The Pacers have gone 21-20 away from home. Indiana has a 22-15 record against opponents over .500. The Thunder are shooting 48.2% from the field this season, 0.8 percentage points higher than the 47.4% the Pacers allow to opponents. The Pacers average 13.2 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.3 fewer makes per game than the Thunder allow. TOP PERFORMERS: Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 32.7 points, 6.4 assists and 1.7 steals for the Thunder. Jalen Williams is averaging 20.1 points over the last 10 games. Myles Turner is scoring 15.6 points per game and averaging 6.5 rebounds for the Pacers. Pascal Siakam is averaging 22.1 points and 5.4 rebounds over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Thunder: 7-3, averaging 112.5 points, 43.7 rebounds, 24.4 assists, 10.5 steals and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 46.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.1 points per game. Pacers: 7-3, averaging 116.8 points, 38.3 rebounds, 26.9 assists, 7.9 steals and 5.7 blocks per game while shooting 49.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.9 points. INJURIES: Thunder: Nikola Topic: out for season (acl). Pacers: Isaiah Jackson: out for season (calf), Jarace Walker: out (ankle). ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Hindustan Times
16 hours ago
- Climate
- Hindustan Times
Severe weather delays Pacers' arrival in Oklahoma City for NBA Finals
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Indiana Pacers waited 25 years to get back to the NBA Finals. And then they waited a few more hours to actually get to the NBA Finals. The Pacers' travel plans to the NBA Finals were impacted Tuesday by severe weather. The team's charter was first diverted to Tulsa, Oklahoma — and then, after refueling there, the plane took a scenic route around another band of weather before finally landing in Oklahoma City about 3 1/2 hours behind schedule. It was sunny when the team arrived around 7 p.m. local time. That wasn't the case an hour or so earlier. Forecasters had issued a tornado warning, flood watch and severe thunderstorm watch for Oklahoma City and much of the surrounding areas on Tuesday afternoon, all while the Pacers' charter flight out of Indianapolis was in the air. The flight was diverted and Oklahoma City's airport arrivals and departures were interrupted by heavy rain and wind. Delays were expected to impact other flights coming into Oklahoma City for much of the evening. The Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder are scheduled to appear at the NBA Finals media day on Wednesday at the arena that will host Game 1 of the title series on Thursday night. It's the first finals appearance for the Pacers since 2000 and the first for the Thunder since 2012. 'You spend so much time thinking about getting there, but it's like, you're here now,' Pacers center Myles Turner said before the team left Indianapolis. 'You didn't really spend a lot of time thinking about, 'OK, when I'm here, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that.' It's like, 'Let's just get there.' So now, that milestone has been achieved. It's about doing something with the opportunity." There was at least one tornado spotted in Norman, Oklahoma, near the University of Oklahoma campus, on Tuesday afternoon when the Pacers were waiting things out in Tulsa. It was not immediately known if the tornado touched down or caused any damage. Norman is about 20 miles south of Oklahoma City. Tulsa is about 120 miles northeast of Oklahoma City. NBA: /nba
Indianapolis Star
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Indianapolis Star
Myles Turner discusses the Pacers' NBA Finals matchup with the Thunder
Myles Turner is averaging 15.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game in the playoffs heading into the NBA Finals against the Thunder. Dustin Dopirak
