Indiana Pacers: 3 expectations after Victor Oladipo’s injury

3. Pacers are going to miss Oladipo

When the Indiana Pacers acquired Victor Oladipo prior to the 2017-18 campaign, he was considered a decent player, but not the kind that had superstar potential.

However, last season, he was given a larger role than he had with the Orlando Magic and the Oklahoma City Thunder and he took full advantage of the opportunity.

In 75 appearances he posted averages of 23.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists. His shooting numbers were respectable, as he shot 47.7 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from beyond the arc.

Additionally, he also led the league in steals with 2.4 per contest, paving the way for him to win the Most Improved Player award.

This season, his scoring output is down a bit, but he is still the Pacers’ top scorer at 18.8 points per contest. He is second on the team in assists (5.2 per game); fourth on the roster in rebounding (5.6 per contest) and he leads the team in steals with 1.7 per game.

"“It’s very, very tough to see this happen to a guy who is so positive and means so much to this team,” co-captain Thaddeus Young said via the Concord Monitor. “But we can’t just go be sad. We have to go out and grind out wins and stay together through thick and thin.”"

Although Oladipo leads the team in multiple categories, the one area where he’s really been a difference-maker is delivering when the game is on line. In fact, the Pacers have the best win percentage in the NBA in clutch situations (15-6, 71.4 percent).

A lot of that has to do with the fact that Oladipo has scored 76 points while shooting 63.2 percent from the field and 60 percent from 3-point range in 50 crunch-time minutes, per NBA.com.

Taking all of this into consideration, it is more than fair to say that while the Pacers have no choice but to march forward, they will certainly miss what Oladipo brings to the table on a nightly basis.