Indiana Pacers big man Myles Turner showed why he’s a candidate for this season's NBA Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) Award by blocking Nikola Vucevic at the rim in Tuesday's game against the Chicago Bulls.

Myles Turner is currently averaging a career high of 3.5 blocks along with 12.7 points and 6.5 rebounds a game. 

The DPOY award is also based on how the player impacts his team’s defensive rating. The Pacers are currently 11th in the league on defense. Myles Turner contributes most in rim protection, guarding the paint. He is considered the defensive anchor of the team.

Myles Turner has made it clear that he indeed wants to unseat Giannis Antetokounmpo as the NBA’s best defensive player.

Myles Turner currently leads the NBA in the blocks per game category—just above Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert, who is also gunning for the same award. Gobert has already won the award twice and currently leads the DPOY race this season, per NBA.com.

One way Myles Turner can snag the award is to help improve the Pacers’ record as they currently sit in ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings. Being in a team that’s ninth place might not cut it for Turner especially considering that it’s the East. 

The good news for Myles Turner and the Pacers is that they still have a chance to work their way up the standings. As mentioned above, they’re in the East so finding their way back on top won’t be as difficult as it would be in the Western Conference.

Myles Turner should continue being the most impactful and schematically important player on the roster especially now that All-Star Domantas Sabonis is sidelined due to injury. It's a situation in which the Pacers need an “all hands on deck” mentality as they fight for playoff position in the home stretch of a shortened NBA season, with 72 games instead of the normal 82.