T.J. Leaf records 20 points and 9 rebounds in Fort Wayne Mad Ants debut
By Josh Padmore
In his first game with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, T.J. Leaf scored 20 points and grabbed 9 rebounds.
The Indiana Pacers, surprisingly, sent T.J. Leaf down to the G-League on Saturday morning. He was accompanied by fellow UCLA rookie Ike Anigbogu. In his debut, Leaf scored 20 points and pulled down 9 rebounds.
Leaf displayed his skill-set, scoring with his shooting ability and with his ability to put the ball on the floor and make a play. Leaf shot 9 of 19 from the floor, 2 of 4 from deep, and played 32 minutes.
Ultimately, the Mad Ants fell short at the hands of the Grand Rapids. It came down to the final possession, with the final score being 103-101.
The 20-year old rookie has been stuck in a very small role with the Pacers as of late. Typically, he checks into the game late in the 1st quarter, and exits early in the 2nd quarter. Those are usually all the minutes he sees. You can’t blame Nate McMillan. You play the game to win, and it wouldn’t be winning basketball to play Leaf over a guy like Thaddeus Young, who has been logging a lot of minutes.
Sending Leaf to the G-League was probably the right thing to do, but it was still surprising. The young man could definitely use some playing time in Fort Wayne, since he isn’t playing much for the Pacers. During the month of December, Leaf is averaging just 6 minutes per game.
Walter Lemon Jr also scored 20 points for the Mad Ants in the loss. Ike Anigbogu finished with 4 points and 11 rebounds.
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During the broadcast of the game, on Twitch, it was said that it’s very possible that Leaf and Anigbogu could remain with the Mad Ants for their next game. That next game would be on Monday, when they take on the Greensboro Swarm. You can watch the game on Facebook Live.