Pacers Season Review: Life with and without Victor Oladipo
By Luke Parrish
Two Halves of Victor Oladipo’s Season
The Pacer guard was excellent on both sides of the ball when healthy, and he was a huge reason behind the Pacers push for home-court advantage in the playoffs despite missing more than half of the season.
Prior to suffering his first injury against the Atlanta Hawks, Vic was averaging 22.7 points and 6.9 rebounds. He shot .442/.345/.703 splits in that span. He also averaged 4.9 assists before going down in November.
Perhaps the return from injury brought a more timid Oladipo. His shooting numbers dropped while his passing seemed to increase noticeably in his second stint of the season. Vic’s field goal attempts dropped from 19.5 to 15.3 per game in December and January.
He jumped up to 5.8 assists in place of his shooting decline, and his rebounding numbers also dropped a tad. Obviously, this can be attributed to lineup changes and a new role in the offense, but the timing is worth noting.
Perhaps Oladipo was ailing when he returned the first time. Maybe he was playing cautiously. Either way, we saw a change in the way he approached the game last season. Hopefully, he can get back to his true game once fully healthy.
The sudden dip in shooting and spike in passing does make me hesitate in my expectations a little bit. Perhaps Oladipo was ailing when he returned the first time. Maybe he was playing cautiously. Either way, we saw a change in the way he approached the game last season. Hopefully, he can get back to his true game once fully healthy.
We saw flashes of what we expect out of Victor Oladipo during the season for sure. We know that he is a two-way stud with the clutch factor in his game. He is a great on-ball defender with a knack for steals. After all, he did lead the NBA in steals in 2017-18. Not to mention his streak of 64 consecutive games with a recorded steal back in the same season. Oladipo is a guy that will impact the game on one end of the court or the other. He usually makes his presence felt on both ends.
The Indiana Pacers are undoubtedly a much better team with Victor Oladipo on the court, but just how much better? Let’s take a look.