T.J. Leaf just had a breakout game of sorts with his 18 points and 3 rebounds in a tightly contested win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. That comes a night after Leaf’s 9 points and 7 rebounds in his team’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.
It was another solid performance for the second-year power forward and another glimmer of hope that Leaf can contribute going forward.
The Pacers don’t need Leaf to become a star, but they need him to contribute on a regular basis. While Leaf’s been disappointing considering his draft position — the 18th pick of the 2017 NBA draft — Pacers fans should be cheering on the subtle improvements the former UCLA product made in the past few months.