This may be unfair to say of a second-year player, but the 2018-19 season might end up being one of T.J. Leaf’s most crucial. The 18th pick in the 2017 draft has shown flashes for the Indiana Pacers. After one highly productive year at UCLA, Leaf was looked at as a stretch big who was far from a finished product. Coming into last year it was understood he would need at least a year to work on his 225-pound frame and get used to the speed of the game.
His most likely ally and now most pressing enemy is time.