Atlanta Hawks Draft Profiles: UCLA’s T.J. Leaf
T.J. Leaf is perhaps the most offensively gifted power forward in the 2017 NBA Draft.
The fabulous freshman out of UCLA, T.J. Leaf resembles a new type of power forward in what is a transition period for the stereotypical NBA big man. What Leaf lacks in physical dominance he has in offensive skill and talent, perhaps more so than any big man in this particular draft class.
T.J. Leaf has an incredibly smooth jump shot. He cashed in on 27-58 (46.6%) on three-point attempts. He compliments that with an outstanding 61.7% field goal percentage along with 64.4% on two point shots, a 66% true shooting and 65.2% effective field goal percentage. Leaf was one of the most efficient players in the country in an offense that thrived because of him and Lonzo Ball.
Leaf is also
. Last year he grabbed 15% of UCLA’s rebounds when he was on the floor, including 19.7% of the defensive rebounds. His 8.2 rebounds per game was one of the best totals in the PAC 12 conference.
T.J. Leaf is mostly effective in the mid range. Has an excellent off-dribble pull up from 15-17 feet away from the basket. He also possesses one of the more important skills needed for a down-low big, and that is the post hook. Almost looking like Kareem-Abdul Jabbar’s, Leaf can hit the sky hook with bodies around him. He can finish around contact, and has an extremely soft touch at the rim. This allows for a higher percentage of contested shots to go in.
While he isn’t a physically dominating prescience, T.J. Leaf does have decent size at 6’10” and 225 pounds. He lacks length, a wingspan at just 6’11”, and lacks competent athleticism as well. He moves his body well and always has good control, but the lack of strength and vital physique is a cause for worry.
The main cause of concern, correlating with the physical weakness, is Leaf’s defense. The lack of length will make it difficult to contest shots from opposing power forward who will be shooting from the perimeter. Face-up specialty bigs are going to have their way with Leaf as a defender, lacking the core and toughness in order to stand his ground against more aggressive opponents.
All in all, T.J. Leaf is a gifted scorer that particularly lacks any sort of defense. This, take this with a grain of salt, puts him in resemblance to a lot of the classic stretch four’s in the NBA today. Ryan Anderson, Nikola Mirotic, Markieff Morris, Nikola Vucevic and others all share this commodity. Leaf has the potential to be more skilled offensively than any of those particular players, but once in the NBA it will take work.