Doyel: Is Pacers rookie Myles Turner better than we think?

Three hours of basketball talk, and your mind starts to wander. First it was Frank Vogel talking, then Paul George, then George Hill and Monta Ellis and on and on. Now it's Larry Bird, and I'll be honest: After three hours of basketball talk at Indiana Pacers media day, it's hard to hear every single word. Something about rookie center Myles Turner. It's getting hot in here. Maybe an iced coffee down at Dunkin' ...

"… and he's probably the best shooter on the team," Bird was saying Monday afternoon.

Excuse me. What?

"He's a dead-eye shooter," Bird said.

Hold the coffee. Awake now, I'm asking Bird to clarify what he just said about Myles Turner. Because what he said sounded a lot like this:

Myles Turner shoots better than C.J. Miles. Better than George Hill. Better than Monta Ellis and Rodney Stuckey and Chase Budinger and anyone else — everyone else — on the roster.

Is that what you said, Larry? That's what I'm asking. Are you saying he shoots from his range better than anyone else shoots from their range? Or are you saying he shoots better, period and with no qualifiers, than anyone on this roster?

This is what Bird told me in response:

"He's better than a lot of our 3-point shooters," Bird said. "Put it this way: I think he's our best shooter, but (I know) he's as good as anyone we've got. And he's 7 foot. He's excellent."

So much big talk about this team, and rightfully so if you ask me. The Pacers are getting with the NBA program this year, acknowledging that positional basketball — a point guard, some wings, a power forward and a center — is out, and versatility is in.

"Position-less," is how Vogel was describing today's NBA.

And the Pacers are loaded at position-less basketball. Paul George and Monta Ellis. Hill and Miles. Stuckey. Toney Douglas. Budinger. Joe Young. Solomon Hill. Glenn Robinson III. That's 10 guys on the perimeter, meaning three or four of them won't play much, if at all. The post will be defended by Ian Mahinmi, Lavoy Allen, Rakeem Christmas and Myles Turner. That's four more names. What are we up to, 14 players? Anchored by a top-five talent in Paul George, an explosive offensive force in Monta Ellis and double-digit veteran scorers in George Hill, Miles and Stuckey?

This team's going to be good, and the words flying around Monday were lofty. Bird was saying this is a playoff team. Paul George was saying it's a top-three team in the East, its position-less roster better than the roster in Atlanta, which won 60 games last season. George also said he wants to win the MVP this season. Big words flying around Monday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, I'm telling you. Big.

The biggest words were saved for Myles Turner.

Wasn't just Bird, either. Vogel was telling me what a special shooter Turner is, and that was the phrase he used: "Special shooter." Paul George was comparing Turner to a second-team All-NBA pick of a year ago, one who averaged 23.4 points and 10.2 rebounds last season in the Western Conference.

"(Turner) has that LaMarcus Aldridge-type game, where he can step out to the perimeter and make jumpers," George was saying. "That's what makes LaMarcus so special. (Turner) has that kind of game."

Turner has heard that for awhile. When he was at Texas last season, Longhorns coach Rick Barnes would cue up video of Aldridge. That's who you play like, Barnes told him. That's who you can be.

Here's some background: Aldridge is 6-11, 240. Last season at Texas, Turner was 6-11, 238 — though he says he has added muscle and is weighing closer to 250 pounds now.

Aldridge played two seasons at Texas, Turner just one, but their freshman numbers are almost identical:

Aldridge in 2004-05: 9.9 points, 5.9 rebounds in 22.2 minutes.

Turner in 2014-15: 10.1 points, 6.5 rebounds in 22.2 minutes.

Now it's happening with the Pacers: Myles, you remind us of LaMarcus Aldridge. Turner likes it, but doesn't get silly about it and proclaim himself another Aldridge.

"Funny to hear (George) say that, because I try to emulate a lot of (Aldridge's) stuff on the floor," Turner says. "I appreciate the compliment, but those are just words."

But these are the numbers: In the Orlando Summer League, playing against other young pros, Turner averaged 18.7 points and 8.3 rebounds in three games. (Before his rookie season, Aldridge averaged 11.8 points and 7.0 rebounds in five games in Las Vegas.)

Turner shot 60.5 percent from the floor (Aldridge: 47.9 percent). Turner tried just a trio of 3-pointers, but he made two (Aldridge: 0 for 1). Turner shot 80 percent from the foul line (Aldridge: 86.7 percent). It's a small sample size, but it's the only sample we've got.

And the sample size says Myles Turner can really shoot the ball.

So does Frank Vogel. And Paul George. And Larry Bird, who has me so flummoxed that I follow him away from the media pack on Monday, get him alone, and beg him to stop me from writing something stupid about Myles Turner. Because what I want to write is pretty much what Bird has said. That Turner is the best shooter on the team. Which suggests he could be a special player. Which means the city of Indianapolis isn't quite prepared for how good this kid is going to be.

Bird doesn't say much in response. Instead, he's giggling. Happily giggling. And then he says this:

"He can shoot it," Bird is saying. "He can really shoot it."

Find Star columnist Gregg Doyel on Twitter at @GreggDoyelStar or at www.facebook.com/gregg.doyel.