Was Evan Turner completely misutilized in Indiana?

I'll be the first to admit it. I initially was not pleased when I heard the Celtics were planning on signing Evan Turner. Truthfully, I was not all that familiar with his game but what I did see was he was absolutely abysmal for the Pacers last season in the playoffs.

Now, even though it's just been one pre-season game and it was against the 76ers, I'm beginning to wonder if Indiana completely misused him last season and whether he would have been a better option at the starting PG for the Pacers than George Hill.

I know hindsight's 20-20 and chemistry is a delicate balance especially for a team that pushed Miami to the brink just a season earlier. The thing is George Hill just was not getting it done for Indiana. In the Conference Finals he averaged just 2.2 assists.

Watching Turner last night one thing was evident that he can do that George Hill cannot is he can get to the rim. This discombobulates the defense which would have allowed for more opportunities for Lance Stephenson and Paul George.

An invaluable asset for a team that struggles on the offensive end.

Also, the defensive rotations Turner could have created might have allowed for some easy baskets for Roy Hibbert which just might have broken him out of his late season funk.

Now, Turner did play a bit of point guard for the Pacers and the offensive numbers were underwhelming when he did.

But, is there never a non adjustment period when replacing someone in the starting lineup-especially a point guard?

Not to mention the sample size was way too small to draw any real conclusions:

When backup point guard C.J. Watson and third-stringer Donald Sloan – each elevated a spot without Hill – are on the bench and Turner plays (via nbawowy):

Offensive rating: 95.2
Defensive rating: 76.2
Net rating: +19.0

In other words, with Turner at point guard, Indiana plays like the NBA’s worst offense, best defense and best team. Those lineups have played just 13 minutes, so major sample-size caveats apply, though.

Anyhow, just an observation after watching Turner in his first preseason game for the Celtics.



Follow Clint on Twitter @ClintCorey