Center Myles Turner is out for game against Celtics

According to a report from Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star, Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle has announced that center Myles Turner will miss tonight's game against the Boston Celtics, the defending NBA champions.

According to the Pacers' injury report, Turner is suffering from a left ankle sprain. In the four games he played this season, Turner averaged 15 points, 6.3 combined rebounds and two blocks per game.

Turner began his basketball career with the Texas Longhorns in 2014 and averaged 10.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 34 games, seven of which he started. He was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year as well as third-team All-Big 12.

After his freshman season, Turner forwent his final three years of college eligibility and declared for the 2015 NBA Draft.

“It wasn't a really hard decision for me because I knew I was going to be picked pretty high up, so I knew this was my chance,” Turner said, according to Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

He wasn't wrong. The Pacers selected Turner 11th in the first round. Other notable players selected in this draft include center Karl-Anthony Towns, point guard D'Angelo Russell, power forward/center Kristaps Porziņģis and shooting guard Devin Booker.

In his first season, Turner averaged 10.3 points, 5.5 total rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game in 60 games. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team and reached the playoffs for the first time.

Turner remained the starter in all 81 games of the 2016–17 NBA season and averaged 14.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game.

A standout season for Turner came in 2018-19, when he led the league in blocks and averaged 2.7 per game in 74 games. He also averaged 13.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and a career-high 1.6 assists per game.

Turner once again led the NBA in blocks during the 2020-2021 season, averaging 3.4 blocks in 47 games. He also averaged 12.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and one assist per game.

Last season, Turner was instrumental in leading the Pacers to the playoffs, averaging 17.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. He would maintain this standard of performance in the playoffs, averaging 17 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 blocks per game. Unfortunately, the Pacers would lose to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.

In his regular season, Turner averaged 13.9 points, 6.8 total rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.

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