After missing a handful of games, Ivica Zubac made his return to the Indiana Pacers lineup. While backup center Jay Huff had done a decent job in his stead, it was pretty clear to see why Huff has been little more than a reserve player to this point in his career. Getting Zubac back was set to be a massive boon.
Well, it wasn't. Zubac was by far the least effective player for the Pacers in his return against the Memphis Grizzlies. He scored just one point, shot 0/5, and had a team-worst -22. Although he was likely on a minutes restriction, playing just 19 minutes, this was just about the ugliest it could get for the Croatian center.
In what was supposed to be a comeback performance, Zubac laid a complete goose egg and was a massive disappointment to fans and analysts alike.
Despite that, though, the Pacers still managed to win the game. Even when brutally injured and scraping together rotation minutes for players who likely would not be getting run anywhere else, Indiana managed to pull themselves up to beating a team that was previously leading the West.
Maybe this is the joy in having a team with this newfound depth. Bad nights can be stomached, players can pop and ebb in and out of big roles, and the team finds balance.
Even with that said, though, Zubac needs to be far, far better.
Zu has the tools to be so much more
Ahead of Wednesday night's game, we focused on what a Zubac-based system could bring as an off-speed pitch to the Pacers' regular high-speed offense. When the playoffs hit, optionality reigns supreme, and this current Pacers roster does not have enough punches to throw against teams that will simply out-talent them.
Even if he had a terrible game, all of that remains true. Big Zu needs to be able to function as a primary offensive option when both Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton cannot share the court with him.
Zubac has shown improvements over the years as a passer both from the post and on the short roll. There's no reason that he can't continue to grow in this regard with the lack of playmaking this team currently has.
Both Andrew Nembhard and Quenton Jackson have certainly picked up some slack, but the team's third-best player should be able to step up when needed.
There's no real doubt that the Ivica can do so. Maybe it's important to hold off judgment, considering the sample size of the return is so far just one game. In the meantime, Indiana will have to prepare for the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
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