Prior to this season I never thought I’d say this, but Al Jefferson has earned a right to some minutes as a backup center.
He’s been thrust into the Pacers’ rotation over the last seven games after Myles Turner hurt his elbow, and Nate McMillan has done a fantastic job to flex Jefferson’s strength.
McMillan’s been having him run traditional center plays that are disappearing across the NBA, something that Jefferson admitted to after Tuesday’s practice: “I think my play style has faded out, but I think when you got a guy like me on the team you know the coaches do a great job of still running plays for me.