Indiana Pacers Love/Hate Series: T.J Leaf
By Jacob Breece
No NBA player is perfect, they all have their strengths and weaknesses. In this love/hate series, we will review those attributes for each player on the Indiana Pacers. In this installment, we will take a look at T.J Leaf.
This may be unfair to say of a second-year player, but the 2018-19 season might end up being one of T.J. Leaf’s most crucial. The 18th pick in the 2017 draft has shown flashes for the Indiana Pacers. After one highly productive year at UCLA, Leaf was looked at as a stretch big who was far from a finished product. Coming into last year it was understood he would need at least a year to work on his 225-pound frame and get used to the speed of the game.
His most likely ally and now most pressing enemy is time.
After an underwhelming summer league that saw the UCLA product slash .364/.200/.636 and scoring only 12.5 ppg while hauling in 5.5 rebounds per game, Leaf is falling behind. Kevin Pritchard’s savvy off-season has Indy in the driver’s seat to compete at the top of the East. With that being said, without any real improvement Leaf could fall out of the rotation once again.
Although the sped up timeline for T.J may work against him, he should have every chance to play a role in this upcoming season. Pritchard has long acknowledged Indy’s need for a true stretch four and Leaf fits that description to a T.
Yes, Leaf could struggle to find his footing again and get benched in lieu of a more ready Kyle O’Quinn. Yes, his summer league may have sent some into a panic. But I’m not worried and here’s why.