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Turner cleared to play for Pacers
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
The Indiana Pacers enter Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat on Tuesday night with a little more depth.
Guard-forward Evan Turner will be available after sitting out the series opener because of strep throat.
Turner, acquired during the season from the Philadelphia 76ers, practiced with the Pacers on Monday and participated in the shootaround on Tuesday morning in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The Pacers lead the series 1-0 after Sunday’s opening 107-96 win in Indianapolis. Rasual Butler took Turner’s place in the bench rotation in that game.
Turner has yet to make a major impact in the playoffs, averaging just 3.5 points in 13 postseason games.
“I think I’ve been doing pretty well,” Turner said, according to The Indianapolis Star. “Obviously, everybody judges me on numbers, but this isn’t a numbers situation. When I come in, I try to rebound, I try to play defense. I pass the ball.
“I feel like every game I usually come out of in those few minutes I lead the team in assists. So, I mean, I just try to play with the flow of the game. Play the best possible way.
“My stats are (not) like the draft pick I was or where people think I should be at, obviously. But I just play the game the way I play the game and I try to do what fits. I feel like I’ve been playing pretty well.”
