Power Forward Thursdays: T.J. Leaf is killing the G-League
By Tony East
T.J. Leaf was sent down to the G-league to get more reps. So far, he’s looked like he is head and shoulders above the competition.
T.J. Leaf hasn’t gotten much of a chance to prove he belongs in the Indiana Pacers rotation. Since November 10th, Leaf has played more than seven minutes in only two of the Pacers 16 games in that time period, and he did not get a chance to play at all on two separate occasions. He wasn’t getting enough playing time, or reps, to develop appropriately. Because of this, on December 16th the Pacers announced they were sending Leaf to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pacers G-league affiliate, so he could get more playing time and development.
When NBA players are sent down to the G-league, the hope is that they dominate. They should be the best player on the court since NBA guys are supposedly more talented than all G-league players. They are in the NBA, after all. When Leaf went down to Fort Wayne, the Pacers and their fans were hopeful that he would take over games and look like a force on the court.
Thankfully, that is exactly what he’s done so far.
He’s only played in two games, but he has been great in both. He’s averaging 26.5 points and nine rebounds in 34 minutes per game in his current short stint. However, the second game, which was against the Greensboro Swarm, Leaf really shined. Let’s focus on his performance in that game.
He started doing his thing early, and I mean very early. On the Mad Ants first possession, Leaf slipped a screen and flew out behind the 3-point line, bombing one in on the games premier possession:
Jump shots are nice. But we’ve seen him hit those in the pros.
Possession two, we saw another great play, and this one showed something we haven’t seen as much from the youngster.
The Mad Ants swung the ball around urgently to the far corner. They shot and missed a three, but then Leaf showed up to do the actual work. He flew in for the rebound and scored the putback, a play we can only hope will translate to the pros:
For the rest of the first quarter, Leaf was cooking. He finished the quarter with an insane 15 points, and he was able to score from all areas of the court. He had a stretch where he scored on four consecutive possessions, and one of those buckets was this beautiful slam:
The first quarter was the most pleasing portion of Leafs performance. He was snagging boards and hitting shots, everything you want your young big man to be doing.
We all know he can play a little on offense, but Leaf’s defense has always been questionable at best. In this game, he got one block and one steal. Neither of those stats jumps off the page, but they do show what Leafs youthful exuberance allow him to do.
His steal was particularly impressive. He read the upcoming pass perfectly and timed his jump into the passing lane with excellent precision. Most importantly, he was able to outrun the opposition and turn his defense into offense:
Hopefully, that is a play Leaf can translate to the pros. If he was a better defender, he’d be a legitimate rotation player already.
His last stroke of skill came in the clutch. With the game on the line, the rookie stepped up and showed off his cajones, canning the 3-pointer that sealed the win:
So, Leaf can play. That much we can see. He was a +4 in a three-point win, so it is clear that he was integral to success in this game.
Next: The Bojan Bogdanovic redemption started in Atlanta
We can see Leaf’s skill on display. The next step for him is showing it in an NBA game. Let’s give the rookie plenty of time, but his G-league performances are very encouraging.