Central Notes: Turner, LaVine, Antetokounmpo

The Pacers will see Myles Turner return to action tonight, Nate McMillan told the media, including the team’s official Twitter account. Turner has missed seven games since suffering a concussion in the team’s season opening victory.

Turner, 21 years old, is the new cornerstone of the Pacers franchise now that Paul George is off with the Thunder. He will, however, be charged with the tough task of sliding into a lineup that has found success playing a faster style of basketball than what he saw over the course of his rookie and sophomore seasons.

Last year Turner averaged 14.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. If he can return to action alongside his new and familiar Pacers teammates without disrupting the 5-3 squad’s flow, Indiana could be even better than they’ve looked thus far. Turner will come off the bench in his debut.

There’s more from the Central Division:

• After three years with Nike, Bulls guard Zach LaVine has agreed to a four-year, $35MM shoe deal with Adidas, Nick DePaula of ESPN says. The prolific slam dunk contest champion has been sidelined with a torn left ACL since last February.
• It seems that Giannis Antetokounmpo is perfectly comfortable suiting up for a small market team like the Bucks. As Marc Stein of the New York Times writes in a feature dedicated toward the budding superstar, Antetokounmpo doesn’t particularly like flashy cities like L.A. or Miami.
• The Bulls don’t have a set date for when Nikola Mirotic and Bobby Portis will meet for the first time following their fight, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes.