Last we heard from TJ Leaf he was...well, he wasn't making any noise whatsoever. He hopes the reboot of the NBA season enables him to have a say in the remainder of the Pacers' season.
Leaf, frankly, was having the least influential of his three NBA seasons when the league shut down in March. He had played in just four of the Pacers' 31 games in the calendar year for a total of 17 minutes and had little hope of gaining a foothold in the playing rotation unless injuries opened an opportunity.
It turns out that opportunity could come within the bubble in Orlando, where the Pacers find themselves shorthanded at center and with a particular former first-round draft pick standing by still eager to make something of himself, even if it is at an unintended position.
"I like the way he looks," coach Nate McMillan said on a video conference call with media members on Monday. "He'll get that opportunity."
Starting big man Domantas Sabonis will miss Thursday's first exhibition game against Portland and perhaps the other two with plantar fasciitis. Rookie center Goga Bitadze has missed most of the practice time to this point but is expected to be available on Thursday. McMillan wants to spread playing time during the exhibitions to keep players as healthy and fresh as possible for the regular season and playoff games, so that leaves a hole — at least temporarily — in the middle.
Leaf isn't your prototypical NBA center at 6-foot-10, 225 pounds, but then the definition of a prototypical NBA center isn't what it used to be. He's been playing it with the second unit in practice in Orlando and has played it some in games this season. There was some question whether Leaf could play small forward when the Pacers drafted him with the 18th overall pick in 2017, but as the league has evolved and his 3-point shot has faded, he's now leaning the other direction from his most suitable position at power forward.
"Not a lot of teams are throwing into the post the whole game, other than to a select few elite fives," Leaf said. "A lot of (playing center) is just guarding pick and roll and at the opposite end it's being involved in pick and roll."
Leaf had played in 25 of the Pacers' 65 games when their season was suspended. He was averaging 2.7 points, matching his rookie norm, and playing fewer minutes (7.7 per game) and shooting worse from the field (.435) than in either of his first two seasons.
He had some highlights, though, and some of the best ones came when he played center. He scored 13 points and grabbed 15 rebounds against Chicago on Nov. 3 while playing many of his 22 minutes in the middle and had 12 points and seven rebounds at Houston on Nov. 15 in nearly 16 minutes.
While his 3-point percentage (.357) isn't nearly what it was as a rookie or in his only season at UCLA, his rebounding has been a pleasant surprise. He is the Pacers' second-best rebounder behind Sabonis on a per-minute basis, averaging 11.9 over 36 minutes.
"I just want to be ready when my number is called," he said. That's been a familiar refrain of the past three seasons, but one that includes a legitimate degree of hope for at least the upcoming exhibition games.
Leaf spent most of the lockdown in the Tampa area, about a 90-minute drive from Orlando. He didn't have access to a gym for the first month, but says he ran and lifted weights until he could do something with a basketball again.
He had plenty of time to work on his fishing skills, something he's been able to show off in the NBA bubble. He's gone with Malcolm Brogdon a couple of times and has instructed a few other teammates as well.
Two-way player Naz Mitrou-Long has been a special project.
"My boy Naz, I caught one and he wouldn't even touch it," Leaf said. "For whatever reason. I don't know why."
Lamb Progressing
Jeremy Lamb hasn't played since Feb. 23, when he shredded his left knee in a game at Toronto and he won't be playing the rest of the season. But he's in Orlando, rehabilitating while his teammates prepare for the resumption of the season.
"I didn't want to be in Indiana by myself," he said. It's good energy for me, it's helping me progress even more, mentally as well.
"Seeing how good they're playing is very inspiring."
Lamb suffered a torn ACL, torn lateral meniscus, and fractured knee while landing awkwardly on his knee while taking a routine foul on a breakaway layup attempt in Toronto. The ACL is the major part in need of more repair. Lamb said he hasn't been told when he might be able to play in a game again, but there appears to be little chance of it happening this season no matter how far the Pacers advance in the playoffs.
"I'm about four months post-surgery, so I don't even ask," he said. "I don't want a target date, I just want to take it one day at a time. I don't want to look forward to a date because I think it will (feel like) it will take longer. By me just taking it day by day it's been going along a lot faster that way."
Lamb, who averaged 12.5 points in 46 games before he was injured in the first quarter at Toronto, was allowed to use the Pacers' practice facilities and training personnel at St. Vincent Center during the lockdown because of his injury. He works to strengthen his knee while his teammates practice in Orlando, although has been called on to help with drills by rebounding and passing.
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Mark Montieth's book on the formation and groundbreaking seasons of the Pacers, "Reborn: The Pacers and the Return of Pro Basketball to Indianapolis," is available in bookstores throughout Indiana and on Amazon.com.
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