The Indiana Pacers are above .500 after 13 games played

The Indiana Pacers went into the night with a record of 6-6 and will now move on to 7-6. Myles Turner is settling into his role, and the rookies continue to shine.

The Indiana Pacers went into the night with a record of 6-6 and will now move on to 7-6 after defeating the Hornets. Now, your Pacers are above .500 with a stretch of home games nearing. They got the win against the Hornets but then will face the Magic twice at home followed by the Timberwolves and Nets. Paolo Banchero will likely miss those games.

Then it will be a brutal seven-game road trip where they will face both LA teams, the red-hot Jazz, and the reigning NBA champions.

Myles Turner’s hot streak continues

In his fourth straight double-double performance, Myles Turner posted 20 points (7/10) and 10 rebounds along with three blocked shots. You have to dive credit to Turner who missed a few games to open the season — he has really made his impact felt.

On both ends of the floor, he has now been consistently productive on the glass and looks confident in his decision-making. Despite the offseason noise and trade whispers following him everywhere he has been a professional and has never shied away from being a vocal leader on and off the court.

Myles Turner's impressive paintwork is worth mentioning here because it is something he worked hard on this offseason. Turner had 12 points in the second quarter with 16 total going 6/9 from the field. Now, one of the big knocks on Myles over his career has been consistency in the scoring department so it will be noteworthy to track that over the entire season. So far, he has been a beast and is easily having one of the best starts in his NBA career.

If he isn’t extended by the Pacers and he does want to be a free agent this offseason, his offensive output will increase his trade value. The Pacers will almost have to look at trading Myles this season if his goal is free agency next year, and even Myles has acknowledged this in prior interviews. The other side to this coin is, what if Turner is consistently producing and the Pacers are good at basketball?

Turner is 26 years old and if adding Tyrese Haliburton is what unlocks his potential, well Indiana has already done that. Would the front office want to see more of that duo? We will wait for the news of him being extended if so.

My personal belief is that Indiana will make a trade for Turner at some point this season as long as he remains healthy. They made it no secret this offseason that Indiana was interested in another center (Deandre Ayton) and they nearly acquired him. The best asset the Indiana Pacers have at the moment is flexibility and optionality. They will utilize both of those in the coming months and will continue to build a roster that best fits alongside the face of the franchise and their budding star Bennedict Mathurin.

Young Pacers Play Well in Charlotte

Andrew Nembhard continues to provide quality minutes despite not being known as a score-first guard. He played 21 minutes and was a plus 20 which was a team-high Wednesday night. Nembhard scored 13 points, had 3 steals, and 2 rebounds in that time while converting five of his six shot attempts.

Carlisle continues to go with Nemnhard in the starting lineup citing he likes having more ball handlers on the floor in post-game interviews. It has been working thus far, Nembhard is averaging 10.3 points and 4 assists since moving into the starting lineup (Averages not including Hornets game). He's shooting 54.5 FG% and 60% from Three. The Pacers have gone 3-1 since promoting him into the starting role.

What more can you say about Bennedict Mathurin?

The rookie has been playing like a five-year pro and is able to score in a variety of ways. Although it has been just 13 games total, Mathurin has proven the ability to bounce back when consistency wains. In those 13 games, there has only been one outing where Mathurin didn’t score 10 or more points.

Against the Hornets, Mathurin scored 10 points in the second quarter alone in just two minutes of play and went 4/9 to that point.

His season averages: 19.9 points per game, 3.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and shooting 46% from the field in addition to 45.5% three-point shooting.