3 Indiana Pacers players who have regressed in 2019-20
By Josh Wilson
This season for the Indiana Pacers has not exceeded expectations, in part because it was just getting started in some ways with Victor Oladipo finally returning from injury at the end of January.
Sitting at fifth in the Eastern Conference, some hoped the team would surge in the remainder of the season to secure home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. While that seems theoretically possible, 2K simulations say otherwise.
Nonetheless, with a break in the action for an indefinite period of time, let’s look at some players who have regressed and try to evaluate how much cause for concern there is with each player’s regression this year.
We’ll start with the injured Victor Oladipo, who deserves a major pass on his dip in play.
light. Related Story. Ranking each of Victor Oladipo's games this season so far
Victor Oladipo hasn’t been the star for the Indiana Pacers this year due to injury
It’s really not all that fair to put Victor Oladipo on this list, which is why we’re going to just briefly mention his regression this season. Oladipo was out for an entire year recovering from a brutal quad injury from last season which drastically impacted his game this year.
Not only did he need to go through a grueling recovery process to get back this season, but upon arrival he had to mesh with a new-look team that had been building chemistry without him.
His performances throughout the year were up-and-down, and he averaged 13.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game in 13 games he appeared in. His per-36 minutes numbers were all down from his All-Star season last year.
Again — nothing we shouldn’t have expected. Oladipo suffered a major injury and a long recovery process. The regression here is completely normal.