Of all the teams that have overperformed in the East so far this season, the Indiana Pacers have perhaps been the most impressive. This was supposed to be a lost season for them. They were expected to tank hard after trading superstar Paul George to the Oklahoma City Thunder this offseason, in an attempt to pick up an asset capable of replacing him in next year’s lottery. They were also expected to be amongst the worst teams in the worst conference, but so far they’ve defied expectation.
Eighteen games into the season and they’re 10-8. They’ve notched wins against playoff hopefuls; Minnesota, San Antonio, Cleveland, Memphis and Detroit amongst others. And they’ll take a four-game winning streak into Friday’s game against the Toronto Raptors at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse, believe it or not.
This is all pretty impressive for a team that has few long-term assets in place and no real sense of identity in the wake of George’s departure. Indiana does, of course, have guard Victor Oladipo on their books now. But the franchise was mocked mercilessly for taking back his grossly inflated contract in one of the most lopsided looking deals of the summer.
Despite being the butt of so many jokes, Oladipo has answered his critics to the tune of 22.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game this season. He’s currently shooting career-highs from the field (46 percent) and from deep (45 percent), while averaging 17.7 attempts per game. Not bad for a player whose ability as a jump shooter has been questioned since he entered the league back in 2013.
Speaking after Indiana’s most recent win (against his old club the Orlando Magic), Oladipo told CBS Sports:
“I think I’ve improved a little bit everywhere. My mindset especially I think has improved a lot. Getting comfortable with my teammates. Getting comfortable with the system we’re running here. Just taking it one day at a time.”
And that seems to be working. Because, as Bleacher Report pointed out Thursday, that game saw him tally 29 points, nine rebounds, seven steals, five assists and two blocks. This makes him just the fifth player in NBA history (since the league began tracking steals and blocks in 1973-74) to achieve that stat line.
While that in itself is relatively meaningless, Oladipo looks more at home than he ever has in Nate McMillan’s up-tempo offense. Just take a look at his highlights from Monday night’s game:
Becoming a threat from distance has made a real difference to Oladipo’s game, as has being the team’s go-to scorer. His True Shooting percentage of 57 percent speaks volumes about his vastly improved shooting form. But he ultimately just looks far more comfortable carrying a team than he ever did when he was charged with that task in Orlando.
That said, Oladipo’s not the only reason Indiana has its head above water right now. Big man Myles Turner is averaging a solid 13.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. While the team’s other newbie, Domantas Sabonis, is pouring in 12.7 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per night.
Throw in the invaluable contributions of wily vets like Bojan Bogdanovic (14.9 points), Thaddeus Young (13.4 points) and Darren Collison (12.6 points) and you’ve got a competitive outfit. One that currently has the eighth most potent offense (108.9 points per game), that’s shooting the fourth highest field goal percentage (47.9 percent) and logging the fifth most assists (23.9 per game).
How long they’re likely to keep this up is anyone’s guess. But for now the Pacers are having fun while defying the league’s expectations, something few expected them to do even for a short spell this season.
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