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Indiana Pacers point guard Malcolm Brogdon has been given the thumbs up to take the floor Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls, while returning shooting guard Victor Oladipo has been handed his minutes restriction.
While the Pacers will have their top guards back, they will be without Myles Turner who is out due to an illness. JaKarr Sampson will join Brogdon among the starting five.
According to Scott Agness of The Athletic, however, Oladipo will be limited to around 24 minutes as a member of the team's second unit.
Malcolm Brogdon has cleared the concussion protocol and will start. Myles Turner (illness) isn’t feeling well and is out. JaKarr Sampson starts.
Oladipo will be restricted to 24 minutes in his season debut.
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) January 29, 2020
Victor Oladipo last suited up on Jan. 23, 2019, having sustained a ruptured quad tendon the last time that he was in action. It has been a laborious journey back to the NBA hardwood, but the Pacers have kicked off the 2019-20 season with a 30-17 record without even having the services of arguably their best player.
Head coach Nate McMillan has indicated that the 24-minute plateau is likely to remain Oladipo's ceiling over the next few weeks as the team approaches the All-Star break.
With Malcolm Brogdon back in the mix, both Aaron Holiday and T.J. McConnell can be expected to reprise their former roles within the Pacers' second unit. While it has been a breakout campaign for Brogdon that has seen him average 17.1 points and 7.3 assists on a nightly basis, it has also been a somewhat injury-riddled one after appearing in only 33 of the team's first 47 contests.
As for Turner, his next chance to get back into action comes Saturday against the Knicks.
