Victor Oladipo made his return to the Indiana Pacers Saturday night, wasting no time in making his presence known and leaving a lasting impression.
There are statement games, and then there are statement games.
What Victor Oladipo almost singlehandedly did to the Chicago Bulls Saturday night in his first live action in almost two weeks could be heard across the NBA landscape. It was nasty, it was immediate, and it left no doubt that “Victor Oladipo, NBA star” is a thing people are just going to have to get used to from now on.
By the time he left the game late in the third quarter with the Indiana Pacers ahead by 35 points, the game had long since been decided.
In the first 40 seconds after tipoff, Oladipo had a steal and a dunk. By the end of the first quarter, he had nine points, four assists, two rebounds and five steals…one for each of his sticky fingers. Just as importantly as what Oladipo did himself, Victor got the struggling Myles Turner going, assisting on three of his baskets en route to 12 first quarter points for the big man.
When Oladipo checked back into the game in the middle of the second quarter, the Bulls were still hanging around, down only 15. Indiana would outscore Chicago 16-4 over the rest of the half, with the former Hoosier scoring or assisting on 13 of those points. The game was effectively over by halftime.
Victor Oladipo returns to action with 23 points & 9 assists to lead the @Pacers! #Pacers pic.twitter.com/j40mXosthu
— NBA (@NBA) January 7, 2018
It was a tour de force if there ever was one, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for a Pacers team that had lost every game in Oladipo’s absence to fall back to .500.
Over that time, Indiana struggled on defense more than anything else, giving up over 117 points per 100 possessions in the absence of their star guard. On Saturday, they held the Bulls to just 86 points, most of which were accumulated in garbage time.
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One of the reasons that Indiana looked like itself again was that Oladipo’s return allowed Lance Stephenson to go back to the bench. The second unit looked noticeably fresher, albeit against a Bulls team playing the second night of a back-to-back.
Still, even with Bojan Bogdanovic out and living relic Damien Wilkins taking his place in the starting lineup, order had been restored for the Pacers. More than anything, they played fast, which had been their calling card through the season’s first two months.
Things are about to get tougher, as Indiana’s next three opponents – the Milwaukee Bucks, the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers – are all currently Eastern Conference playoff teams. All three games are at home though, so Indiana should be able to get things going before its first West coast trip of the season.
In the meantime, the Indiana Pacers are happy to have their guy back. Oladipo likely secured his spot in February’s All-Star game with this effort, something fans are gently pushing for.
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With the way he came out Saturday night, a first-time berth for the 25-year-old should be the first of many accolades coming his way as the season progresses.