“With all the variables, from how I have to build my 5-on-5 workload back up, to the increased risk of a soft tissue injury which could delay my rehab, and the unknown exact set up of the bubble, I just can’t get my mind to being fully comfortable in playing... getting fully healthy for the 2020-21 season is the right decision for me.”
That was Pacers’star Victor Oladipo explaining why he would sit out the NBA restart in Orlando.
Then he got to the Walt Disney World property and saw the set up of the bubble, and he got in some five-on-five practices with teammates, and not it appears he might play after all, a story broken by Shams Charania of The Athletic.
There is growing belief Pacers star Victor Oladipo will attempt to play in the NBA’s restarted season after multiple strong team practices in Orlando, sources inside the bubble tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 13, 2020
Oladipo has been fully participating in five-on-five scrimmages in Orlando, and there’s now optimism around his playing status, sources say. https://t.co/bJ8OLRjmIA
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 13, 2020
Oladeipo may lace them up and play at the end of the month, but nothing is set in stone. Of course, a competitor like Oladipo wants to get on the court, and there is an unquestioned energy finally getting back out there after the coronavirus-forced interruption.
There are also another $2.7 million reasons for him to play (the salary he would lose sitting out). Countering that, Oladipo also got one more year under contract and his concerns about an injury from ramping up to fast are legitimate.
Oladipo missed more than a year after surgery to repair a torn right quad tendon. He played in 13 games before the league was shut down, and in the last five of those he averaged 18.6 points and 4.8 rebounds a game.
Indiana enters the bubble as the five seed in the East, tied with the sixth-seed Sixers, and just two games back of the four seed Heat. There could be a lot of shakeups in the middle of the East standings, which would impact first-round playoff matchups.
The Pacers are a much more dangerous threat with Oladipo in the lineup, but the player and the team need to decide if now is the time to push that advantage.