The Indiana Pacers started the 2020-21 season tremendously, thanks in part to the tremendous play of Myles Turner who emerged as an early DPOY frontrunner and was raining threes at a career-high clip. However, the Pacers cooled off considerably, particularly during a portion of the season with their top wing scorers out due to injury, and now Indiana sits at 26-30, ninth in the East with a three game cushion on 10th and two games back of eighth.
They will likely reach the play-in tournament, but being the 8-seed rather than the 9-seed offers a much easier road of only needing one, not two wins to make the playoffs. The road to getting to that spot got much tougher on Monday when an MRI revealed that Turner has suffered a plantar plate tear in his right foot that will put him on the shelf indefinitely.
Injury update: An MRI done today revealed that Myles Turner has a partial tear of his plantar plate in the great toe of his right foot.
Turner is out indefinitely.https://t.co/dhlDV157sa
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) April 19, 2021
Turner has averaged 12.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, and a league-leading 3.4 blocks per game this season, cooling off from three after a hot start. Losing Turner puts a serious damper on hopes of a late push from Indiana to jump into the top 8 in the East, as it leaves a big frontcourt hole to fill on the roster. In a season that has been filled with unfortunate injuries to key players around the league, Turner is the latest to join the list and the Pacers will continue searching for answers in a frustrating season.