NBA Hoosiers (Dec. 27): Pacers Start Unbeaten With and Without Victor Oladipo
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Because he's in the final year of his contract with the Indiana Pacers, every move that Victor Oladipo makes is scrutinized and over-analyzed. That comes with territory.
Does he stay? Will he go? Is a trade the best thing for the Pacers, or for Oladipo? So many questions about the former Indiana University star, but because its the first week of the regular season, there are very few answers.
We got a small taste of how this might go when Oladipo didn't play in Sunday night's game at home against the Boston Celtics, a thrilling 108-107 Pacers win that raised their record to 3-0. It was the second night of a back-to-back, and the decision was to rest Oladipo's surgically repaired knee in that situation. They've been doing that for a year now, ever since Oladipo returned from the horrific injury in January of 2019.
But we really weren't sure what to expect this year, because he says he's good to go now. But maybe, just maybe, that 100 percent is more like 90 or 95. Or he's just being overly cautious in a contract year.
Thankfully the Pacers got through that game without him, winning their third straight to open the season, the first time they've done that in seven years. Domantas Sabonis scored on a layup with 8.4 seconds left to get the one-point win.
"They were fighting the entire game," new Pacers coach Nate Bjorkgren said. "This is a group that really plays hard for each other no matter who's out there on the floor. It was a very physical game, a lot of bumping both ways, and I thought our guys handled it quite nicely."
Bjorkgren, hired by the Pacers after a nice run as an assistant with the Toronto Raptors, is pushing all the right buttons so far.
"I think we've got great coaching," said Pacers point guard Malcolm Brogdon, who had 25 points and picked up the pressure with Oladipo out. "We've got a coach that motivates us, a coach that's great with X's and O's, and coach that stays calm in high-pressure situations. We feed off him in every aspect of the game.
BROGDAN QUOTE ON VIC
Oladipo is off to a good start with the Pacers. He scored 22 points in an opening night win over the New York Knicks, hitting 9-of-14 shots from the field and making only one turnover in 28 minutes. Then he made all five three-pointers in a 125-106 win at Chicago on Saturday night, scoring another 22.
The Pacers play Boston again on Tuesday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, and Oladipo is expected to be back in the starting lineup. But it's going to be interesting to see how much ''load management'' they do with him the rest of the way, especially considering there's seven more back-to-backs in the first half of the season.
Other 'Hoosiers in the Pros'
- ERIC GORDON, Houston Rockets: Gordon missed the Rockets' season opener on Saturday night out of caution because of COVID-19 contact tracing. He will miss Monday night's game against the Denver Nuggets and can return on Thursday in a home game against the Sacramento Kings.
- OG ANUNOBY, Toronto Raptors: Anunoby had 10 points and six rebounds in a 119-114 loss to the Spurs in San Antonion on Saturday night. His Raptors are off to a surprising 0-2 start.
- THOMAS BRYANT, Washington Wizards: Bryant scored 16 and had seven rebounds on Sunday, but the Wizards lost for the third straight night.
- CODY ZELLER, Charlotte Hornets: Zeller had successful surgery to repair a fracture in his hand that he suffered on opening night last Wednesday. He's expected to miss about a month for the Hornets. It is his left hand, which is good.
- JUWAN MORGAN, Utah Jazz: Morgan isn't part of Utah's rotation out of the gate. He played just three minutes in their season opener and one minute in Saturday's home loss to Minnesota. The Jazz are 1-1 so far.
