4:18pm: Oladipo has no structural issues with the knee and is expected to return in the near future, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
3:56pm: The Pacers issued an update on Victor Oladipo‘s status today, announcing in a press release that the All-Star guard has been ruled out indefinitely. Oladipo is battling a sore right knee and had previously been considered day-to-day.
After enjoying a breakout season in his first year as a Pacer in 2017/18, Oladipo was off to another great start this season, averaging 22.7 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 4.9 APG in his first 15 games. However, he left Indiana’s game on November 17 vs. Atlanta with a knee issue and has missed the club’s last six contests.
While being ruled out “indefinitely” doesn’t necessarily mean that Oladipo’s absence will be a long-term one, it does mean that there’s no timetable for his return to the court at the moment. According to Scott Agness of The Athletic (via Twitter), Oladipo was encouraged after playing 4-on-4 during Thursday’s shootaround, but has also been frustrated by the injury and said he won’t return until he feels 100%.
As long as Oladipo remains on the shelf, rookie guard Aaron Holiday should continue playing a key rotation role. Holiday has averaged 19.4 minutes per game since Oladipo went down, after playing very sparingly in the early going.
The Pacers also have an open roster spot, should they feel the need to add any backcourt reinforcements while they await Oladipo’s return.
Perhaps unrelated but those yellow Pacers jerseys are world class in a league that is riddled with awful unis.
Yeah I really like them. And they stand out so well.