- Indiana Pacers’ guard Victor Oladipo won’t play in Orlando at the NBA restart, in order to recover his knee properly.
- Even though he returned to court before the COVID-19 pause, Oladipo decided not to risk anything now.
- Pacers are No.5 in the East at the moment.
Oladipo Skips Orlando, Pacers Without Their Best Player
The 28-year old revealed last night that he wouldn’t be coming back to finish the current campaign in Orlando. He did indicate that something like this might happen earlier this week, after speaking about his health status.
“At the end of the day, it takes time for your body to heal,” Oladipo said. “… We’ve had an extensive period of time off, and to go back and ramp things up again, I’m susceptible to injury more so than anyone else seeing as how I was already injured beforehand, and I wasn’t 100% when I came back, to begin with.”
Just to remind you, Oladipo did play 13 matches before the NBA stopped, in which he spent 25.3 minutes on the court, with an average of 13.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3 assists.
All these numbers are his career-low, but we need to add that as time went by, he became better and better, with Indiana winning the majority of the games played with Oladipo available. In the last match before the suspension of play, the athletic guard dropped 27 points on Boston Celtics.
Previously, Oladipo suffered a ruptured quadriceps tendon, and he spent the majority of the season recovering from it. It is a very problematic injury for all the athletes, especially the ones in sports involving jumping. In Oladipo’s case, it is even more complicated because of his superb physical abilities. His style of play includes a lot of explosive movements, as well as high-intensity rhythm, which demands his body to be 100% healthy.
“A part of rehab is working your way back and getting yourself to 100%, so at the end of the day, going back and turning things up as quickly as we’re about to do, and pretty much going to playoff formation and playoff games after eight games, I’m more susceptible to injury than anyone /else is. So it’s not about now. It’s about longevity.”
Victor Oladipo was second overall pick at the 2014 draft, and since coming to the league, he became one of the most attractive players to watch. He was selected for two All-Star games, was in the All-NBA Third Team, and the All-Defensive First Team, and in 2018 the Most Improved Player of the Year.
Pacers Continue Without Oladipo
Indiana is currently fifth in the East with 39-26 record and is in the middle of a messy situation in the standings. Two games away from the Pacers are the Miami Heat. The Philadelphia 76ers are tied with Oladipo’s crew, and the battle of these three sides will most definitely make things interesting in Orlando.
Celtics are 4.5 games ahead Pacers, meaning that the chances of reaching Brad Stevens’ side are minimal, while on the other hand, the Nets and the Magic are far behind, without realistic chances of endangering Indiana’s position.
Pacers will open the restart against the 76ers, then face Wizards, Magic, Suns, Lakers, Heat the Rocket and the Heat once again.
