Darron Cummings/Associated Press
Victor Oladipo returned to the Indiana Pacers on January 29 after missing a full year following a ruptured quad. After playing in 13 games, Oladipo has decided he’ll skip the restart and focus on next season.
Oladipo told Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium:
“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. I have to be smart and this decision hasn’t been easy, but I truly believe continuing on the course I’m on and getting fully healthy for the 2020-21 season is the right decision for me.”
The Pacers are in the fifth seed in the East, tied with the sixth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers at 39-26.
Indiana was going to have a tough fight to even make it out of the first round with its best player in tow, especially with shooting guard Jeremy Lamb already out with a torn ACL. This puts even more pressure on Domantas Sabonis, T.J. Warren, Myles Turner, Malcolm Brogdon and the rest of the Pacers’ rotation players.
Not all hope is lost, however. The team was an impressive 30-17 before Oladipo made his regular-season debut, and it was just 7-6 in his 13 games.
Making it out of the first round against a team like the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat or 76ers will be a difficult task, with or without Oladipo.
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