Here are 4 Indiana Pacers that stepped up in Victor Oladipo’s absence
By Ben Gibson
The Indiana Pacers put down an 8-4 record without Victor Oladipo so far, but that isn’t the only silver lining from his absence.
Life without Victor Oladipo isn’t easy, but the Indiana Pacers managed an 8-4 record since their star player went down in a game with the Atlanta Hawks. At 17-10, the Pacers are holding in fourth place in the Eastern Conference while sitting four games out of first place.
The fact the Pacers have a winning record without Oladipo is a huge accomplishment compared to their 0-7 record without him a season ago. But more than that, they haven’t just survived, the change to the lineups allowed some players to flourish.
Without their All-Star guard, the Pacers learned how to get more out of at least four of their players. There were some smaller positives from others, but Myles Turner, Bojan Bogdanovic, Doug McDermott, and Aaron Holiday made the most of the unexpected opportunity.
Making it all work whenever Oladipo returns isn’t as easy as it sounds, but those four can take a thing or two from these games and apply them when Oladipo returns.
Myles Turner quiets the critics, for now
Myles Turner and expectations are often in a state a flux. As a rookie, he impressed at times but it wasn’t until his second season that the words “future All-Star” were uttered in earnest. But over the last two seasons, things haven’t gone the way many expected.
After signing a lucrative extension before the season, his stats hardly matched the level of play. Two of those stats — 11 points and 4.9 rebounds — continued a troubling regression from his sophomore season. His defense ensured his place on the court, but the lack of statistical abundance opened the door to plenty of criticism.
Over the past few games in particular, however, Turner’s shown he is more than what some believed what he was becoming as they were whispering the word “bust”, even if that was a strong bit of hyperbole.
Since November 17th, his stats trended closer to a double-double with 13.4 points and 9.1 rebounds a game. His shooting is slightly better but less hesitation when he does shoot is part of the confidence that appears on the rise. For the double-double tracking crowd, he grabbed his first when Oladipo went down and added four more since, just missing out on a sixth by a point, not a rebound.
Turner might not ever be an elite rebounder, but recently he looked more than the average one he’s been most of his career. The aggression is there as he doesn’t wait to shoot or let rebounds come to him. He now searches for them. A softer schedule helped his net rating some, but his +9 in the last 11 games isn’t a fluke. His play improved. It’s little surprise the ugliest game in Oladipo’s absence came when Turner sat against the San Antonio Spurs.
His stats will change a little when Oladipo returns, Victor is the star, after all, but that doesn’t mean Turner needs to acquiesce as much as he did earlier in the season. He can still fight for those rebounds and take a few more shots regardless.