Victor Oladipo finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting last season, but he’s already experiencing his fair share of a sophomore jinx before his second season has even begun.
Oladipo suffered an MCL sprain earlier in the preseason, and that alone had his availability for opening night in question. Once he finally returned to practice, he caught an elbow to the face, which caused a fracture that required surgery.
From Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:After undergoing surgery to repair a facial fracture, Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo is expected to miss a month of the season, a league sources told Yahoo Sports. ...
He had the surgical procedure on Saturday.
For the Magic, Oladipo’s loss is a significant blow and adds to the burden on promising rookie Elfrid Payton Jr., who will take on a more significant role in Oladipo’s absence.
Oladipo was forced into a point guard role last year due to roster constraints, but while he played just fine overall, he was below average at running the offense or finding his teammates for high-percentage shots.
This season is supposed to be different; with Payton in place and the addition of Luke Ridnour, Oladipo should be able to return to his natural position of shooting guard, which should be exciting.
The bad news for Magic fans is that it looks like we’ll have to wait at least a month to see how it plays out.
Oladipo, the second overall pick in the 2013 draft, averaged 13.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 31.1 minutes per contest last season.