Where does that leave Vic?
We know there aren’t any voters who are going to put Oladipo on their five-man ballots ahead of Harden, Davis or the Greek Freak.
It’s possible that a few voters nudge someone from the lower group past LeBron, penalizing the King for his, shall we say, “inconsistent” effort on the year. It’s also feasible that many in the media will include only one of Steph or KD on their ballot.
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That leaves Oladipo fighting it out with the above six names for that last, precious vote.
It’s easy to see the Spurs falling out of the race for home-court. That, plus Aldridge’s somewhat pedestrian counting stats (22 points, eight rebounds, two assists and just over one block) and general Spurs fatigue could push him out of the race.
It’s also easy to argue that Oladipo means far more to his team than either of his East All-Star guard counterparts mean to theirs. The Pacers still fall apart when he’s off the floor and play like a top-five unit when he’s on.
That leaves Oladipo duking it out with Embiid, Lillard and old buddy Russell Westbrook for the final spot. At this point, it’s too close to call, but team record will have a lot to do with it, as will any one of them going on a personal three-week run of SportsCenter highlights where they put the team on their back.
The hype surrounding Joel and Russ far surpasses anything Vic can duplicate, and Dame is at least on par. Putting his chances at getting at least one vote at 25 percent seems about right.
Next: 2017-18 Week 20 NBA Power Rankings
Given the narrative surrounding he and the Pacers heading into this year, they’ll both gladly take it.