Indiana Pacers: 3 goals for the 2019 offseason
1. Focus on Oladipo’s recovery
The good news about Dipo is that he’s progressing well, at least, according to his most recent video. After tearing his quadricep tendon in January, he ditched the cast and crutches in late March and has been seen getting shots up in recent months.
As encouraging as all of that progress might be, it would be in Indiana’s best interest to not rush his recovery, but make sure he’s 100 percent ready to go as close to the mid-October season start as possible. A season opener for Vic would be ideal, but not necessary.
This summer and offseason should be for Vic’s training to be as under-the-radar as possible. He’s been pretty good about subtly dropping progress videos here and there, and frankly, that will make his return that much sweeter.
https://twitter.com/Pacers/status/1137140386516873216
The organization understands it has a star in him, and should stay patient in his return if it wants to keep expectations high for next year. Tony Parker suffered the same injury in 2017 with the Spurs, and one doctor even believes Oladipo’s unique injury can be one of the most unpredictable post-surgery injuries.
That same doctor though, believes that a “realistic” goal for his recovery timetable would be 100 percent ready by October. By the time NBA Summer League hits, the Pacers should hope to have a fully-set roster that a recovering Oladipo can start to jell with as the season approaches.