Opportunity’s cost: the Victor Oladipo injury

The Indiana Pacers lost Victor Oladipo for the season. It is tragic. But someone has to step up now.

This is not an optimistic story, not after what just happened to Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo.

A sight that can’t be unseen: Oladipo, almost universally embraced by a city, a state that he almost universally embraces back, who was the primary driving force behind rescuing a proud franchise out of certain oblivion, who is certainly the face if not be heart and soul, as well, of the Indiana Pacers organization, the man we’d all rather picture weaving through defenders, soaring airborne toward the basket or unfurling deep threes that swish nets while buzzers sound, was sitting, supported by both arms, underneath the southern basket at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on a Wednesday night that should have been a triumphal Wednesday night, with a Gatorade towel draped over his freshly disfigured knee. His season was over.

There is no replacing Victor Oladipo the man. His unique blend of speed, all-NBA defense, and all-star level offense will not be gracing a basketball court for the foreseeable future. The Indiana Pacers are undeniably worse because of it.

But this story is not an obituary, either. Victor Oladipo is hurt, but alive. Fanbases have suffered more devastating blows than the debilitating blow Indiana received in the second quarter of a 110-106 win over Toronto. The season, if figuratively, is not literally over. 35 more games will be played, and there will be playoff games after that.

What Oladipo’s injury presents is one of the cruelest aspects of sports and life: an opportunity. While the man Victor Oladipo cannot be replaced, either through a combined effort or a singular one, his numerical contributions can be.

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We’ve seen the situation played out many times before. No one outside of Midwestern college football fans from the 1990s would have known who Tom Brady was if Drew Bledsoe wasn’t almost killed during a game. When the housing market collapsed a decade ago, it brought ruination to the global economy and a fortune to the dozens of investors who were clever enough to foresee the incoming disaster and wager on the collapse.

In 2005, the Pacers were the class of the NBA until they literally fought Detroit, player and fan alike. In the aftermath, Ron Artest, Jermaine O’Neal and Stephen Jackson, Indiana’s three best players, were each suspended for significant time, Artest for the entire season. That felt bleak too. But Indiana rallied, in Reggie Miller‘s swan song, to push Detroit to a sixth game in the Conference Semifinals.

Earlier this season the Indiana Pacers got a taste of life without Victor as well. The schedule was soft, the results were good. 7-4 (really 8-4, because Oladipo barely played in the Atlanta game).

During that stretch, the Indiana Pacers turned to nine players: Myles Turner, Domantas Sabonis, Bojan Bogdanovic, Thaddeus Young, Darren Collison, Cory Joseph, Tyreke Evans, Doug McDermott and Aaron Holiday. To close out the Toronto win, the Pacers went even shorter, an eight-man rotation, with a cameo from Kyle O’Quinn. Eight and nine men rotations are the norm, so it’s reasonable to except likewise going forward.

During Oladipo’s earliest absence, the scoring void was plugged by Bogdanovic and his 19.4 points per game. Both he and McDermott shot above 45% from three. Collison took over much of the playmaking dishing 8 assists per contest. Barring those exceptions, if they even qualify as exceptions, Indiana carried on mostly as they had before. Maybe that will be the recipe going forward as well.

Oladipo’s injury, however, provides Tyreke Evans with the opportunity of his career. Most of Evans’ big moments have come as the main actor on terrible teams. He’s got hardly any playoff experience. He was signed to be the man who could take over games in Oladipo’s absence, and for the most part, he’s let that opportunity slip through his fingers.

But, here it is again, opportunity. Indiana doesn’t need Evans to be the fuel for a second unit, but instead the starters. And this opportunity finds Evans on a roll. The last seven games have been his best stretch of the season. He’s averaged 14.9 points (on 47 FG%, 42 3P%, 82 FT%) with a couple of rebounds and assists. Money and glory are both on the line for Evans, whether he seizes the moment or not.

No matter if Evans capitalizes on the moment or lets it get away, other roles are about to be opened up. Aaron Holiday stirred the imagination during Oladipo’s last absence, and he’s mainly been riding the bench since. The main reason for his lack of playing time was his lack of productivity, but now he’ll have a crack at minutes once again. The same could be said for preseason darling Edmond Sumner, who has floated between the Pacers and the Mad Ants for most of the season. Someone needs to pick up wing minutes, it would be a career-defining moment for either of the two youngsters.

Basketball can be cruel, as it was Wednesday night, and the cost of an opportunity can be likewise. Over the next 35 games, the Indiana Pacers will have a chance to prove their valor or succumb to an absence. The mighty absence of Victor Oladipo.