T.J. Leaf put down another solid performance as a member of the Indiana Pacers and is finally passing the “Looks like an NBA player” test consistently.
T.J. Leaf just had a breakout game of sorts with his 18 points and 3 rebounds in a tightly contested win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. That comes a night after Leaf’s 9 points and 7 rebounds in his team’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.
It was another solid performance for the second-year power forward and another glimmer of hope that Leaf can contribute going forward.
The Pacers don’t need Leaf to become a star, but they need him to contribute on a regular basis. While Leaf’s been disappointing considering his draft position — the 18th pick of the 2017 NBA draft — Pacers fans should be cheering on the subtle improvements the former UCLA product made in the past few months.
It took some time, but he finally looks like an NBA player.
The “Looks like an NBA player” test
T.J. Leaf is finally passing that test consistently.
That may seem insulting, but I don’t mean it at all like that. There’s a number of deep rotational players and bench warmers who never find any stability in the NBA, and as a consequence of that, eventually, wash out.
Last season, Leaf couldn’t make enough shots to justify keeping him on the court, especially with his suspect defense. He didn’t look like an NBA player. But this season he found a way to get more buckets (shooting 54.4 percent) while playing the sort of defense that can keep him on the court even if he shoots below 50 percent.
His defense is actually his best asset at the moment. While defensive stats are tricky, the numbers show his contributions are pushing him towards no longer dragging down the second unit. A season ago, his defense was horrific enough to justify keeping him off the floor in anything but garbage time. But now? Indiana is in the positive with him on the floor.
Perhaps it’s the weight he added or just a year of experience under his belt, but Leaf’s defense isn’t the liability it once was. He gets in the way of his opponents and is getting physical on defense.
He doesn’t look lost out there as he did a season ago. He puts himself into better position defensively and is holding ground instead of scrambling to even get himself near a defender. His defensive IQ was abominable last season, but now it’s earned a passing grade.
However, that might also explain what’s wrong with his shooting, even if his percentages are up.
Time is a flat circle, so is T.J. Leaf’s shot
Something happened to Leaf’s shot. Somehow, his seemingly NBA-ready offense, or at least shooting, changed noticeably.
It flattened out. Maybe it wasn’t a beautiful arc before, but now it just looks like it takes the straightest path possible to the basket.
His 3-point shooting fell off a cliff. His rookie season he went 18 of 42 (42.9 percent) from deep but this season it’s dropped down to an ugly 24 percent on 6 of 25 attempts. Maybe it’s because of the muscle he added, but the distance shooting took a knock this season.
If there’s any good news from this, it is that perhaps that he can adjust with more training in the offseason. His shot was there in college and his rookie year, so maybe he just needs recalibrating more than anything else.
The fact his scoring from elsewhere has improved — his percentages from the rim out to 10 feet are up — point to a more well-rounded game if he gets his 3-point shooting back in line.
The Indiana Pacers just need a solid rotation player
In hindsight, and perhaps even then, there were better options for the 18th pick of the 2017 draft. But guess what? That’s a sunk cost. Get over it. That’s Kevin Pritchard’s problem, not T.J. Leaf’s.
The important thing now is for Leaf to continue to develop. That doesn’t mean he needs to develop into a starter or a sixth man. But if the Pacers can get a rotational player with some upside out of Leaf, then that’s a modest win for them as he’s on the books for at least one more season. It’s only a benefit to the Pacers for him to grow than to have to sign another free agent.
T.J’s proven it isn’t time to give up on him. His development into a serviceable defender isn’t something I’d have expected to start the season, but he proved his critics wrong, me included. Leaf still has a ways to go before he dismisses all doubts, but his growth as a player this season in rebounding, passing, and defense is proof he isn’t limited to what we saw his rookie season.
Prices are still low for a spot on Leaf Landmass. It’s up to your own judgment whether now is the time to invest or not.