There was maybe a bit of a pipedream that Jay Huff could be the Indiana Pacers' next full-time starting center when they traded for him last summer, but for the most part, the team knew what they were hoping to get with him. And with just a month left in the season, he has become exactly what they needed him to be: a perfect backup center who can play real minutes.
Huff's first season with Indiana has been a bit of a roller coaster. He's had some great moments (scoring a career-high 29 points on 13-for-17 shooting against the New Orleans Pelicans). He's had some bad moments (like shooting 2-for-9 from the field and 1-for-7 from deep against the Cleveland Cavaliers. And he's had everything in between.
However, the pros outweighed the cons for Huff, who led the league in total blocks for a big part of the season and has established himself as a legitimate floor-spacer in Indiana. He will now be tasked with being the team's primary backup center behind Ivica Zubac, and so far, he's living up to that task.
Jay Huff has been fanatstic as Ivica Zubac's center
In his three games as Zubac's backup, the Virginia alum has averaged 11.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 2 blocks while shooting 50% from the field in 16.7 minutes. He is mostly struggling to hit his threes (he shot 31.3% from beyond the arc in those games), but chances are that he'll find his groove sooner rather than later.
Huff wasn't the Pacers' answer in the post-Myles Turner era, but he still established himself as a key contributor to the team, and that should only continue as they look to re-enter the title picture next season.
The North Carolina native is a bit streaky, but when he's on, he's borderline automatic from three. Additionally, he is a fantastic rim protector who also doesn't force anything. Huff is a very smart basketball player who knows his strengths and weaknesses, and he knows how to play his role. This allows him to complement everybody else's game, which should pay dividends from here on out because of how important depth is to Indiana's success.
As it stands, the Pacers now have a strong center room moving forward. The biggest reason for this, of course, is the acquisition of Zubac, who should greatly elevate the team's success in just about every area of the game. However, Huff has the makings to be a great backup center for the Pacers for the long haul, and he shouldn't be overlooked moving forward.