Indiana Pacers: Still a contender even without Victor Oladipo

The Indiana Pacers have proved the critics wrong this season, sitting in a playoff spot even after losing their star player Victor Oladipo in late January

Although the Indiana Pacers lost four straight games after Victor Oladipo got injured on January 23rd, they have played extremely well since, defying all the odds. They currently sit fourth in the Eastern Conference at 42-25, well in the thick of things in the playoff race.

Obviously, it’s very tough to replace a player like Oladipo, who is the staple of this Indiana team. But with a very good coach in Nate McMillan and certain players stepping up, the Pacers are definitely a contender and will almost certainly make the playoffs this year without their star guard.

Certain players producing in Oladipo’s absence

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There have been several guys who have been playing tremendously for Indiana since Oladipo tore his quad tendon, but the most notable one is definitely Bojan Bogdanovic. The big Croatian forward leads the Pacers with 17.7 points per game and 4.1 rebounds per contest.

Since the start of February, Bogdanovic has averaged around 23 points a night. He has picked up a lot of the scoring for this team without Oladipo around. The 29-year old has been lethal from downtown this year as well, shooting 42 percent from 3-point range on 4.7 attempts per game.

He’s enjoying career-highs in points and rebounds per game, while also shooting a career-best from downtown and from field goal range (49.7%). With his new role as their primary scorer right now, Bogdanovic is also attempting a lot more shots than he usually would if Oladipo was still on the court with him. He is shooting a career-high 12.8 field goal attempts per game this season, more than two FG’s more than last year at 10.7.

He does a very good job of finding lanes to cut to the rim and attempt the high percentage shots when possible. If Bogdanovic does shoot from deep, he usually finds open looks. He’s strong with the ball and relishes the opportunities to take contact on his way to the rim.

While Bogdanovic has led the way, the Pacers wouldn’t be where they are without others like Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis.

Turner is enjoying a very quality year as Indiana’s primary center after a lackluster campaign last season. The big man currently leads the NBA with 2.9 blocks per game, while averaging 13.1 points a game and seven rebounds. He’s also started to shoot it well from long-range with a 40.3 3-point percentage, which is second to just Karl-Anthony Towns among NBA centers. He has been playing hard, gritty defense this year and is definitely one of the best all-around centers in the league currently.

Sabonis has been Indiana’s main weapon off the bench this year. The Lithuanian has collected career-highs in scoring, rebounds, field goal percentage, and assists. He’s averaging 14.2 points per game on 60 percent shooting from the field, while also collecting a team-high 9.2 rebounds per contest. He’s only started two of Indiana’s 60 games this year, but Sabonis is still playing a healthy 24.8 minutes per night. He’s been very crucial to this team because when he is unavailable, they don’t have a true scorer who can come off their bench. He did miss a span of five games recently and without him, the Pacers went 2-3.

These are the main three who have really carried the Pacers this year, but others like Thaddeus Young, Wesley Matthews, and Darren Collison have done their part. All three players are averaging over ten points a game this season.

Can they keep the run going?

Indiana is 4-6 in their last 10 games, but they have dealt with some injuries such as Sabonis. However, they face one of the toughest schedules to end the season of any team in the NBA. Nine of their last fifteen matchups are against playoff teams, including two games apiece against the Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics. They also play Portland, Golden State, and the Los Angeles Clippers as well during this last stretch of games.

But this team has fought hard all season to play quality basketball and put themselves in a position to make the playoffs. They may slip out of third place in the East and end up in fourth or fifth by the season’s end, but you can definitely prepare to see this Pacers team in the playoffs come April.

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No Oladipo, no problem. Everyone has stepped up this season to fill the huge void that he’s left. It will be exciting to see how far this Indiana Pacers team can go when it comes playoff time.

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