8 points, 9 seconds
Fansided

The Good, The Bad, and What’s Next

By Jacob Lane

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 18th: Myles Turner #33 of the Indiana Pacers shoots the ball against the Boston Celtics on December 18, 2017 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 18th: Myles Turner #33 of the Indiana Pacers shoots the ball against the Boston Celtics on December 18, 2017 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Bad – The Pacers look like bottom feeders without star guard Victor Oladipo

Victor Oladipo of the Indiana Pacers
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – DECEMBER 06: Victor Oladipo #4 of the Indiana Pacers points to the court in celebration during the game against the Chicago Bulls at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on December 6, 2017, in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

Through 30+ games the Indiana Pacers have been one of the biggest surprises of the 2017-18 NBA season, considering they were an early favorite to win the number one pick coming into the season after they dealt superstar Paul George this offseason for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. Boy were the experts wrong. Behind a career year from Victor Oladipo, who is averaging 24.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game, the Pacers currently one game above .500 and are holding down the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. No one saw this coming. Trading away Paul George for Victor Oladipo are you kidding me? The trade was criticized from all angles, and the Pacers looked like fools. However, In his fifth season, playing for his third team Victor Oladipo is having a career year and looks like he is becoming one of the bright young stars in the NBA.

Here’s an excerpt from a Bleacher Report piece detailing the weeks after the Pacers acquired Oladipo.

"“By making this move, management is saying they’re going to build around you,” McMillan recalls telling Oladipo. “But I don’t want you to put any added pressure on yourself. So do your thing, play freely, and we’ll figure out how you begin leading this organization.” It was the expression of confidence that Oladipo had been waiting years to hear. A former No. 2 overall pick, the 25-year-old guard has enjoyed a solid NBA career (16.3 points per game). The thing is, solid isn’t what teams or fans expect from players drafted that high. No. 2 picks are expected to become studs, the types of talents that no team would dream of trading, let alone twice, which is all to say that through the first five years of his career, Oladipo had fallen short. But now, one month into this new season, it seems that one more change of scenery coupled with an expression of faith was all he needed. Oladipo is playing like a star and validating the Pacers‘ decision to place their future in his hands. He’s boosted his scoring all the way up to 23 points per game while shooting a career-high 47.4 percent from the field. He also has the 12-9 Pacers, a team pegged by most experts prior to the season as one of the worst in the league, outperforming expectations, despite the squad’s other star, Myles Turner, missing five games due to a concussion."

With as good as Victor Oladipo has been its overshadowed just how mediocre the rest of the team has been at times. Unfortunately for the Pacers, with Victor injured and missing three of the team’s four games, the flaws we’ve seen with Oladipo out of the games this season have stuck out like a sore thumb.

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The transition game which Indiana thrives in has suffered mightily. No one has been able to step up and score in bunches like Oladipo does when healthy. And the defense has been one of the worst, if not the worst in the league. With Oladipo not playing you also would have expected Myles Turner, the Pacers third-year center to step up and play his basketball of the season, but just like many of the other players on the team his play has suffered without the presence of Oladipo.

In the three games that Oladipo sat out this week Turner averaged 10 points and 3 rebounds per game while shooting a measly 37% from the field, and having a -2 +/- or worse in every game but one.

With their star guard in the lineup, this season the Pacers have played like a team that deserves to be in the playoffs (combined record of 19-14), without him they’ve looked like one of the worst teams in the league (0-4), suffering three devastating blowout losses

Getting Victor Oladipo back healthy is crucial if this team has any shot at making a run at the playoffs.

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