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How the Pacers have re-integrated Victor Oladipo into the offense

By Ben Pfeifer

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 23: Victor Oladipo #4 of the Indiana Pacers leads a fast break ahead of Sam Dekker #8 of the Washington Wizards during the game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on December 23, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Pacers won 105-89. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using the photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 23: Victor Oladipo #4 of the Indiana Pacers leads a fast break ahead of Sam Dekker #8 of the Washington Wizards during the game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on December 23, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Pacers won 105-89. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using the photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Since returning from injury, Victor Oladipo’s role in the Indiana Pacers offense has been different. Let’s examine how.

When Victor Oladipo missed his first game of the season against the Jazz, concerns were minimal. When Oladipo continued to miss games, concern rose, and rightfully so. Last year, the Indiana Pacers were a trainwreck when Oladipo sat, going 0-7 in the games where their star sat on the bench.

Despite reports that Vic was going to miss the entire season, Oladipo is back in the Pacers’ lineup. Surprisingly, the Pacers did more than enough to stay afloat without their leader. But now things are different.

Throwing last season out of the window, the Indiana Pacers finished their 11 game Oladipo-less stretch with a  record of 7-4, a marked improvement from last season’s Chernobyl-esque meltdown whenever Oladipo didn’t play.

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The coaching staff and the players deserve marked credit for evolving and adapting to their situation. Bojan Bogdanovic took on a primary scoring role, Myles Turner has been playing better than ever, and Domantas Sabonis continues to dominate on offense. However, Victor Oladipo is back. Riding a 9-3 month of December, the Pacers have placed themselves in a prime position in the competitive apex of the Eastern Conference.

Before Oladipo’s injury, his numbers were fairly normal. Slightly down from last season, Victor Oladipo averaged 22.7 points on 19.5 shot attempts per game, 4.9 assists, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.7 steals on a 53.3 true shooting percentage.

Tyreke Evans took the second most shots on the team at 9.9, scoring 11.2 per game. Bogdanovic took the third most shots on the Pacers before Oladipo’s injury, with 9.5, scoring 14.2 points per game. Turner was scoring a pedestrian 11 points on 9.3 shots per game. In his perpetual state of hyper-efficiency, Domas scored 14.1 points per game on 8.1 shots, good for a ridiculous 71.9 TS%.

Looking at Vic’s shot distribution before his injury (this section will not be as in depth because of a lack of access to play type data), Oladipo drove 10 times per game, shooting the ball 4.6 times per game from them. He had 3.6 shot attempts per game in catch and shoot situations, tied for second-most on the team. His most common method of attack was the pull-up, where he took 9.7 attempts per game.

In the Pacers star’s seven games back from injury, the team has not fully given over the reigns to him yet. He still leads the team in shots with 14.4 per night, averaging 17.4 points and 6.6 assists. Before the injury, nobody on the Pacers took over 10 shots besides Oladipo. In the last seven games, 5 Pacers are taking 10+ shots per game.

During Oladipo’s absence, Bojan proved himself as a more than capable stopgap and replacement for Oladipos offensive output, scoring 19.6 points per game on 13.1 shots. His shot attempts and points per game have both dipped to 15.6 on 11.7 since Oladipo’s return, but he is still being used as a playmaker to take some of the burdens off of Vic.

Turner, Thaddeus Young, and Sabonis are all averaging over 10 shots per game and are all scoring over 14 points per game. Turner’s play specifically has been a revelation: adding to his great defense, he is more aggressive in looking for his shot and he is shooting a scorching 50% from 3 over the last seven games.  Over the same span, Oladipo’s drives are down to 8.9 per game, his pull-up jump shot attempts are down to 7.9, and his catch-and-shoots are down to 2.9.

The Pacers’ most recent game against Washington provides a great example as to how the Pacers are functioning on offense with a less than 100% healthy best player. Victor Oladipo only scored 12 points, but seven Pacers scored in double figures. Six Indy players took at least 10 shots and Oladipo took 13, second to Myles’ 17.

The Pacers haven’t changed much of how Victor Oladipo operates within the offense, they’ve just lowered his volume. One of the best ways to help Vic get good shots is running him off of screens, where he isn’t forced to make too much happen on his own:

Bogdanovic’s development as a secondary playmaker has been huge for the Pacers and Oladipo specifically. Given Evans’ disappointing season, having another guy that has been able to create his own shot allows for Oladipo to expend less energy on offense:

Victor Oladipo will eventually get back to 100% health and will reclaim his superstar-level shot volume, usurping touches from everybody else.

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However, does that have to be the case? The Indiana Pacers have found significant success with this formula, getting more of their talented pieces involved in the flow of the offense. Oladipo is the guy and will get his touches, but expect the Pacers to continue playing team-centric offense until it stops churning out wins.

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