Déjà Vu Part II: Victor Oladipo, Paul George, and the road back to the Indiana Pacers

The video of Victor Oladipo working out from a stretcher in a gym reminds us of another Indiana Pacers star’s rehab: Paul George.

We’ve been here before. Watching the Indiana Pacers’ franchise player on his road to recovery still putting in work on his basketball skills. A few years ago, it was Paul George. Now, it’s Victor Oladipo.

During Monday’s loss to the Detroit Pistons, Fox Sports Indiana aired footage of Oladipo dribbling two basketballs with his trainer in Florida. Oladipo’s knee was heavily braced as the tendons in his leg heal, but his spirit appears as positive as ever.

It reminded me of when Paul George was playing one-on-one against his dog later on in his own recovery process.

It reminded me that there’s a chance that like George, Oladipo might end up improving his shooting. The coming months will leave him limited in what he can do on the court, but he can still perfect his shot.

https://twitter.com/FSIndiana/status/1100180660092719105

It reminded me that if anyone’s coming back from this injury at the same level or better, it’s Oladipo. The man is infectiously positive with his attitude and it will only be his body, not his spirit, that holds him back in any way going forward.

Cautious optimism for Victor Oladipo

Let’s be clear, this injury might be harder to come back that the one George dealt with. If there was anything lucky about the way George broke his leg, it was that he avoided major damage to the ligaments and tendons around his knee when it happened. Oladipo, on the other hand, clearly damaged those.

Bones are made to break and as horrifying as George’s injury may have been, the body is equipt to put the bones back together over time — and more effectively with surgery.

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But the soft tissues of the body aren’t made to heal themselves in the same way. It’s not some demented contest between the two, but that’s the one thing I fear with Oladipo’s future compared to when George went down.

However, even if Oladipo gets back to the 85-90 percent strength that doctors hope for after injuries like his, he can still be an effective player. I never thought Shaun Livingston would have the career he had after he destroyed his knee, but he is chasing a third title with the Golden State Warriors as a solid contributor.

Oladipo’s career changed the moment he went down on the court. But so did George’s when he broke his leg. In George’s case, that didn’ mean he couldn’t make himself into a better player once he was ready to play basketball again.

Imagine in 2014 talking about Paul George winning an MVP, but here we are with him in the running for that. I don’t know if Oladipo has a chance to do that, but even for Oladipo to get back to an All-Star level would be amazing to talk about here in a few years.

Tough times don’t last, tough people, do.