Indiana Pacers: Without Victor Oladipo, a deep playoff run is highly unlikely
Without Victor Oladipo, the Indiana Pacers don’t stand a chance in the East
When it was announced that the NBA would be restarting its season in the Orlando/Disney bubble, one of the Eastern Conference teams that were in the conversation to potentially make an unforeseen deep playoff run was the Indiana Pacers.
They had all the ingredients for an intriguing playoff team. Before the hiatus, the Pacers were a top 10 defensive team in the NBA, have a solid head coach, a deep enough roster, and, perhaps most importantly, was getting back its star.
Victor Oladipo was slowly making his way back into the team’s lineup when the hiatus set in, making his availability for the restart in doubt. Sure enough, that’s exactly how it transpired over the last week.
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Without Oladipo, the Indiana Pacers will have an uphill battle
Officially, Oladipo has elected not to participate in the NBA’s restart. Without Oladipo, the Pacers will be facing an uphill battle even when they do get to the playoffs in the East. Objectively, they should be hoping to play the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs.
They wouldn’t match well against the supremely talented Philadelphia 76ers (despite their issues), much less against a well-oiled machine like the Boston Celtics. Even then, the Heat are one of the deepest teams in the East and are led by Jimmy Butler and one of the league’s best-rising stars, Bam Adebayo.
Without Oladipo, it’d be difficult for the Pacers to match the Heat’s star power. When it comes to the playoffs, that’s often the differentiator for teams that are all but equal across the board. The presence of Jimmy and Bam when the NBA resumes and the absence of Oladipo could be the ultimate deciding factor in a series between these two teams.
The postseason is where stars are not only born but where they flourish. It’s the breeding ground for elite players and budding superstars. It would’ve been the perfect situation for Oladipo to take over a series, or to perhaps exchange haymakers with Jimmy and Bam, or whoever the Pacers would end up playing in the first round.
Perhaps the Pacers will still have enough to make some noise in the first round. Maybe they could still push their first-round opponent to six or even seven games. However, with the absence of Victor Oladipo in the lineup, the possibility of the Pacers making a deep playoff run in the Eastern Conference is extremely unlikely.
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Considering the season that the Indiana Pacers were having before the NBA’s hiatus, it’s unfortunate we won’t see this team at full strength when the season is resumed.