Pacers at Bulls, 8 p.m. Friday, FSI

INDIANAPOLIS – Without Victor Oladipo on the floor, the Indiana Pacers' most talented player is Myles Turner.

The 21-year-old center was one of three players to score 16 points and lead the offense in Oladipo's absence Wednesday. Turner was 6-of-12 from the floor, 1-for-3 from 3-point range.

When it comes to big men, he's got the NBA's best mid-range shot this season. Only a handful of guards, one of them Oladipo, are more efficient between 15-19 or 20-24 feet. He's added a consistent 3-pointer — sinking 37.1 percent — and he's yet to be fully realized physically.

His skillset remains a sought after combination in the modern NBA: A long, athletic shot blocker with quick feet and a clean shot.

But when it comes down to it, he's not doing what the Pacers need inside right now. The Dallas Mavericks used Harrison Barnes to guard Turner Wednesday. Turner has three inches and 20 pounds on Barnes, but opted not to post him up. Inside of 5 feet, 55 centers (at least two attempts per game) shoot more efficiently than Turner.

"That's part of his growth this year," Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. "If teams are going to give that matchup, he has to take advantage of that."

Three times in the final 4:23, when the Pacers were nursing a 1-point lead, Turner missed. One missed shot was a layup, the other two were turnaround jumpers, one from eight feet and the other from nine.

The Pacers' offense stalled without Oladipo in the fourth quarter as they failed to create good attempts. If those two buckets fall, maybe the narrative around Turner right now is that his shooting is so valuable it doesn't matter that he often ends up on the wrong end of mismatches inside.

But recently we've seen Steven Adams, DeMarcus Cousins and Andre Drummond beat the Pacers up on the boards and dominate in the paint. That's not solely on Turner's shoulders but it starts there. The Mavericks don't have anyone nearly that capable inside, but it didn't matter.

"We had matchups in the post with Myles that we didn't capitalize (on)," McMillan said. "We had matchups on the perimeter where I thought our guys settled for shots against those bigs. We didn't attack the basket.

"(Dallas tries) to take away penetration and rim attempts, and your bigs and your guards are going to get long 2s."

About 64 percent of Turner's shots come from more than 10 feet away from the rim, and 68 percent of his attempts are jump shots, according to www.basketball-reference.com. Compared to other 'stretch' big men like Lamarcus Aldridge (54 and 63 percent), Al Horford (52 and 58 percent) and Anthony Davis (59 and 48 percent), it's clear Turner likes to live outside the paint.

And maybe that's OK. Though conventional wisdom says it's best to take shots at the rim or from behind the arc, the Pacers have run the league's seventh most efficient offense, according to ESPN, living by the mid-range. That's where they score a league-high 18.4 percent of their points.

The Pacers have led the league in 3-point field goal percentage for most of the season, but they're 20th in 3s attempted. Point being: They're happy with shooting the mid-range because they've got Turner, Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis and even Cory Joseph who all love that distance.

After the Pacers' comeback win over the Nets, McMillan said he'd rather have Turner shooting mid-range jumpers than 3s. He called him a "laser" from that sweet spot.

"I know he'd prefer the mid-range every now and then," Turner said. "But if I can get behind the defense and it's a longer run for that guard or that big to get back to me, I can create a little more space with that jumper."

That space is more useful, of course, when the Pacers have their go-to scorer on the floor. If the mid-range isn't falling when Oladipo is out, the offense can quickly become stale.

Lucky for the Pacers, Oladipo is day-to-day, though he will miss Friday's game at Chicago. Once he returns, Turner can continue figuring out how to take advantage of mismatches.

Alex Poythress signs contract with Pacers

The Pacers announced Thursday they signed former two-way player Alex Poythress to a contract. He was splitting time between the Pacers and their developmental team, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Poythress will no longer be a two-way player.

You can find IndyStar sports producer Dakota Crawford on Twitter: @DakotaCrawford_.

Read more on the Pacers: