The Indiana Pacers were able to defeat the New York Knicks in their season opener on Wednesday night despite facing a narrow deficit in the first half. In Indiana's first win of the season, Victor Oladipo proved that he wants to more aggressive for the Pacers this season.
Following Oladipo's efforts on Wednesday night, rookie head coach Nate Bjorkgren pinpointed how tough Oladipo is to guard when he's aggressive:
“When he gets going downhill, when he gets the opponent on their heels like in attack mode, he's really tough to guard,” Bjorkgren said, via Akeem Glaspie of The Indianapolis Star. “And that's what we need on this team. … We are creating that space. When we need to drive and get to that paint and finish at the rim, then everything else opens up.”
Going into halftime, the Pacers faced a five-point deficit while Victor Oladipo got himself in foul trouble. However, he would turn things around in the second half by attacking the basket consistently.
The two-time All-Star finished with 22 points, four rebounds, and four assists in Indiana's 121-107 victory over New York. He shot an efficient 9-of-14 from the field, with seven of his shots coming from inside the 3-point line.
After being limited to 55 games in the previous two seasons, Oladipo spoke about this stellar performance:
“I'm still getting stronger, getting my power back and things like that, but I'm healed,” he said. “At the end of the day, I just go out there and play aggressive, play my game, be myself and be assertive. And when I do that, everything else is just free flowing.”
The Pacers have been a consistently good team in recent years, but they've failed to make it out of the first round. If Victor Oladipo returns to All-Star form on this roster, Indiana might be able to make a run.
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