The Indiana Pacers have gone through some major change this offseason, even though their roster has stayed relatively the same. Where did the change come from? Well, the Pacers decided to fire head coach Nate McMillan following a sweep at the hands of the Miami Heat in the 2020 NBA Playoffs and replaced him with former Toronto Raptors assistant coach Nate Bjorkgren.
No, the roster did not have much turnover, although the Pacers did try to make a major move for Gordon Hayward. Unfortunately, they were unable to come to an agreement on a sign-and-trade deal with the Boston Celtics. So, Kevin Pritchard and company decided to run it back and opt for continuity.
Victor Oladipo was rumored to be a likely trade candidate when the offseason began. Despite all of the trade rumors surrounding him, the Pacers chose to keep him around. They still could trade him before the NBA trade deadline, but for now they want to see how he looks with more time to recover from a gruesome ruptured quad injury.
Last season, the Pacers saw Oladipo return to the floor after a year of missed time. He played in 19 regular-season games after making his return, starting in 16 of those appearances. Oladipo ended the regular season averaging 14.5 points per game to go along with 3.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists.
While it was great to see him back on the floor, Oladipo struggled to score the ball consistently. He shot just 39.4 percent from the floor overall and 31.7 percent from the 3-point line.
In the four playoff games he played, Oladipo showed more flashes of his former talent, but there were still noticeable concerns for the Pacers. Against the Heat in those four games, Oladipo averaged 17.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game to go along with shooting 39.3 percent from the floor and 36.4 percent from downtown.
Now, the question becomes, can Oladipo return to his All-Star form? Can he become the face of the Pacers once again? And if he can, will he end up re-signing with the Pacers or leave next offseason in free agency?
What to expect from Victor Oladipo in 2020-21 with Pacers
There are a ton of differing opinions about what to expect from Oladipo. Some believe that he will look much better than he did in the limited time he saw last season. However, there has not been a lot of time for him to recover fully since the Pacers' season ended in the first round of the playoffs.
Oladipo did speak out about how he is feeling so far this year. It sounds promising:
“I'm feeling pretty good. Obviously there's some soreness and the fatigue a little bit just from finally getting back moving around and stuff like that. But for the most part I've been feeling really good. I'm just glad to be able to be out here and compete in training camp.”
New head coach Nate Bjorkgren also commented on Oladipo and what he has seen from the former All-Star so far:
“He looks great,” Bjorkgren said. “Energy's good, he's got a lot of bounce to him. Everything that I've asked of him, he's doing and he's trying to do it at a very high level.”
Fans should be excited to hear that Oladipo has a “lot of bounce” to him so far. That was one of the main concerns following the injury. Oladipo has always played above the rim with his athleticism, but a quad injury could steal some of that from him.
Granted, there is a good chance that Victor Oladipo will never get back to being 100 percent the old version of himself. There will need to be some changes to his game. But that does not mean that he can't get back to being the face of the Pacers.
Without further delay, let's take a look at what fans should be expecting from Oladipo.
It would be reasonable to expect Oladipo to look much better than he did in the NBA bubble last year. He should end up averaging at least 17 points per game, although there is reason to believe that he can get back to the 20 range. Oladipo will also improve his shooting numbers from what they were last season.
From a stat line perspective, we are predicting that Oladipo will end up averaging 18.5 points per game to go along with 4.5 assists and 3.8 rebounds. He will shoot 43 percent from the floor and 38 percent from the 3-point line. Those are reasonable goals for him to shoot for this year.
Will Oladipo lead this Pacers team to the NBA Finals? Absolutely not, but the Pacers could be a serious contender in the Eastern Conference. They will be a threat to win a playoff series if everyone can stay healthy.
Even though the Pacers will not be a championship contender this season, a healthy version of Victor Oladipo will give them hope for the future. Kevin Pritchard will have to decide what kind of money the franchise is willing to pay to try and keep him around. Oladipo is going to look a lot more like his old self, and the fans are going to enjoy what they see.
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