Indiana Pacers: 3 reasons they’re thriving despite Victor Oladipo injury

1. Pacers continue to be one of the best defensive teams in the league

Prior to Oladipo going down with a season-ending injury, the Pacers were one the best defensive teams in the association. After losing an All-Star caliber player, it wouldn’t have been too farfetched to assume that the team’s defensive numbers would take a hit.

However, that has not been the case with this group. When Oladipo was in the fold, the Pacers were the top team in the league in points allowed, giving up 103.2 points per contest. Believe it or not, the Pacers are still the NBA’s top team in points allowed with 102.8 points per contest.

Along with that, Indiana still has the second-best defensive rating (104.5 points per 100 possessions). This number is actually slightly better than their 105.1 rating when Oladipo was in the lineup.

Furthermore, over the past six games, only one team has managed to shoot better than 45 percent from the field. In their recent win over the Charlotte Hornets, Indiana limited its opponent to just 32.2 percent shooting from the field and 17.5 percent from 3-point range.

https://twitter.com/Pacers/status/1095333436015820801

As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, expectations about how far this team can potentially go still need to be held in check.

On the other hand, while the odds are against them winning a title, they may prove to be a tougher out in the playoffs than what many expect.