Have any players added any noticeable skills?
This applies to everyone, technically, but more so to the younger guys. This is what preseason is all about. What new skills do players have that they haven’t possessed in the past?
One guy we will get a long look at is TJ Leaf, who is starting at least the first game against the Houston Rockets:
TJ Leaf will start Thursday in Houston. He has run with the starters (Collison, Oladipo, Bogdanovic, Turner) throughout camp as Thad Young is sidelined with a foot bruise.
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) October 3, 2018
Leaf with the starters could be great for him offensively. We saw in summer league that TJ isn’t ready to be a shot creator yet. But as a play finisher, he still thrives. Putting him with the starting five should suit him well from that play-finishing standpoint, as the starters can set him up for some good looks.
It will also give him an opportunity to show what he can do in some other skills areas. Cutting, screening, and overall defense are some of the many key areas we need to see some Leaf show improvement in. This preseason will be a good time for him to show how that 20 pounds of muscle he added is going to help his game.
But this doesn’t just apply to Leaf. We will probably see a healthy dose of Ike Anigbogu. Can he do anything besides dunk on offense? Can he move laterally on defense?
Will Edmond Sumner be able to shoot as well as he did in Summer League? Will he regain some of the athleticism that made him so deadly at Xavier?
And that is just the end of the roster guys. Those are important skill developments for them to become rotation players. Some other guys have other more important things to show.
Can Myles Turner defend out in space? How about Domantas Sabonis? Has Turner developed a more refined post game? Can Doug McDermott defend any more effectively? Have any of the veterans added any flavor to their games? What does an MVP gear look like for Victor Oladipo?
These are all things that we can get a first glance of in the preseason. If the Pacers season is going to be changed because of some big-time improvements for certain players, we are likely going to see some of those improvements in these meaningless games.