Jay Huff has looked horrible to begin his Indiana Pacers career, and the team is quickly realizing why he has struggled to stick in the NBA and is on his fifth team in as many seasons.
It's not far-fetched to assume that things can eventually turn around in Huff's favor. After all, he has played just six games for Indiana so far, and let's not forget that he did show flashes during preseason.
However, the Huff experience has not been a great one for the Pacers so far.
In six games with the Pacers, including one start, the North Carolina native has averaged 4.2 points, 2 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks while shooting 36% from the field and 18.8% from deep. Additionally, Huff played just three minutes during Indiana's victory against the Golden State Warriors (all in the second quarter) and did not record a single counting stat.
There were high hopes for Huff in Indiana this season. The Pacers needed another center after losing Myles Turner in free agency, and Huff needed a real opportunity. This looked like a match made in heaven, especially given how similarly the Virginia alum plays to Turner. And, to be fair, it could still turn out to be one. But early on, things are going from bad to worse for Huff in Indiana.
The Pacers need Jay Huff to turn things around
After Turner joined the Milwaukee Bucks in free agency, the Pacers opted to run a center-by-committee in order to replace him. Given that it was always going to be challenging for the team to find a one-for-one replacement for him, this seemed like the right call. However, it's looking like a disaster so far.
The Pacers entered the season with four legitimate center options (five if you include Obi Toppin). Now, they may be down to just two (and one of them is Tony Bradley, who was in the G League at this time last year).
Center-by-committees can work, but only if every player is holding their own. If not, then it just becomes a weak center group. So far, it's looking like the latter for Indiana, and a lot of that has to do with Huff's slow start.
The 27-year-old has looked bad in each area of the game to begin his Pacers career. His shot hasn't fallen, he is constantly getting bullied on the boards (which has always been one of his biggest weaknesses), and he is not providing much defensive value outside of his rim protection.
To say this is far from ideal considering how much hope fans had in him would be an understatement.
Before this season, Huff appeared in just 95 total games across four seasons, averaging 9.6 minutes. He did not get a legitimate opportunity until last season, when he played 64 games for the Memphis Grizzlies.
The idea was always that Huff looked good in a limited role (he shot 40.5% from deep last season on 3.1 attempts per game) and maybe just needed more opportunities to prove he can be a legitimate contributor in the NBA.
Unfortunately for him, that is not looking to be the case at the moment, and it seems that maybe he just doesn't have what it takes to perform at a high level in the NBA on a consistent basis.
On paper, there is still a lot to like about Huff in Indiana because of his skillset, and fans can only assume that he will come into his own over time. However, until that happens, he is just going to look like a failed Turner replacement. And given that the Pacers already have a horrible center situation, this is not a good spot for them to be in.