Indiana Pacers: 3 players that can take advantage of extra rest

Victor Oladipo

Victor Oladipo is the obvious one here. As mentioned earlier, Oladipo went down with a brutal, season-ending quad injury in early 2019 and underwent surgery on January 28, 2019. He made his 2020 debut on January 29, hitting a clutch three to send the game to overtime, a game the Pacers would ultimately win.

Since coming back, Oladipo hasn’t totally been himself. His points, rebounds, and assists are all down per 36 minutes compared to last year.

Frankly, no one should have expected him to come right back to his old ways on day one, that expectation would be quite unrealistic.

Returning from such a lengthy period of time off and away from the game — and coming back to new teammates to get acclimated to — is a tough process. Some players returning from lengthy injuries such as Oladipo’s have often taken well beyond a season to get back to peak physical and cerebral condition. Gordon Hayward is a prime example with the Boston Celtics.

While no games currently happening doesn’t do Oladipo any good in terms of readjusting to the flow and cadence of being out there for NBA competition, more rest certainly helps reduce the strain on his recovering leg and other injuries. He’s missed a total of five games since returning from the injury, several due to right knee soreness.

Oladipo even played through some of that knee soreness, scoring 27 points against the Celtics in what could end up being his final game of the season if the NBA cancels the season outright, a decision Adam Silver and the league office are mulling over.

Oladipo playing through a knee injury so soon after coming back from another unrelated injury is suboptimal. This rest will hopefully help him put the knee up, relax, and come back at full strength.