MIAMI, FLORIDA – APRIL 27: Nikola Jovic #5 of the Miami Heat drives against Payton Pritchard #11 of the Boston Celtics during the second quarter in game three of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs at Kaseya Center on April 27, 2024 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
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The Eastern Conference has been lauded by pundits as being far inferior to the Western Conference. The major injuries to Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton have changed the projections for two heavyweights in the conference. Regardless, talent still remains and it’ll be interesting to see how impactful those players can be to any of the 15 teams in the conference.
This is a continuation of the western edition of this piece. Here are a few players that break the list:
Payton Pritchard
As mentioned above, there is a huge scoring absence with the injury to Tatum, which will, most likely, knock him out for the entirety of the season. Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis were both traded off while Al Horford may possibly retire. Those four players not returning to the team would result in more than 50 shots per game being up for grabs. Pritchard would make a whole lot of sense to carry some of that offensive burden this season.
Last year, Pritchard was a monster with his efficiency. He had the highest points per shot attempt at 128.8 for any point guard in the NBA. Yes, that means he rated higher than players like Tyrese Haliburton, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Steph Curry and Jalen Brunson. That number is likely to change with a heavier offensive load on his shoulders, but it’s a positive sign that he was able to post those numbers with a respectable 18.8 usage figure. The really impressive part of all of this is that he had an absurd 8.2 turnover percentage which made him one of only two point guards to accomplish the feat all of last season.
Obviously, Pritchard is well respected within the NBA after capturing his first sixth man of the year award just last season. His contract and bench role anchor him to a reputation as a scoring punch off the bench. This year could really change his perception around the NBA, especially if he is able to hit over 40 percent of his three point looks on high volume.
Jay Huff
Myles Turner was one of the most important players on the Indiana Pacers last season, but ended up walking away after the organization failed to pony up enough money to retain him. So instead the Pacers were forced to survey the trade market to see if they could find an adequate center to replace his production. The Pacers and the Grizzlies made a deal for Huff the day after Turner signed his contract with Milwaukee in July.
Huff provides some elements that may be quite attractive to the Pacers. First off, he has shown himself to be a respectable shooter from deep after he drained more than 40 percent of his looks last season. Getting shooting from the position has been a priority for Indiana, especially since they had such a quality shooter in Turner for 10 seasons. Last year, the acquisition of Thomas Bryant showed how valuable they thought it was to maintain a level of shooting, even from a backup at the position.
Huff won’t be playing with Haliburton next season, but it’ll still be incredibly helpful with the pacing of the offense to have a strong shooter to allow the team to play similarly to last season. His rebounding leaves something to be desired, but he is a stalwart defender at the rim. He had a 3.6 block percentage last year for the Grizzlies, which was one of the best marks in the league. He’s a worse version of Myles Turner, but if he can be a semblance of that type of player he has a chance to pay huge dividends at his cost (three years, $8 million).
Nikola Jovic
Jovic has been a consistent plus for Miami over the last couple of seasons. He’s an above average shooter that does a little bit of everything on the court. The thing that really stands out is his size and how willing he is to stay moving on offense. He is listed at 6 ’10 and the stature is evident when he’s on the court because he often draws matchups against much smaller defenders. That becomes really helpful in situations in which he trails the play looking for the three, or jets out ahead of defenders in transition where he can easily finish over them at the basket.
The Miami offense is more egalitarian and because of that Jovic often finds himself getting help defenders jumping out at him after the ball whirls around the court. That gives him a distinct advantage at canning open catch and shoot opportunities from deep which he’s hit at over a 37 percent clip the past two seasons. He has the potential to be utilized in a way where he could pass out of the top of the key when playing in lineups without Bam Adebayo. His 17.3 assist percentage was well above league average for big men.
The physicality is occasionally lacking and he is not the best rebounder. There’s no true aspect of his game that stands out, and without a true calling card that could come back to haunt him if his shooting regresses. There’s no evidence that should occur so his biggest imperative will be staying healthy for a full season so he can become the positive player that can help Miami become a frisky playoff team this upcoming season.