Victor Oladipo‘s defense is an underrated component of why the Heat targeted him in a trade with the Rockets, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Players guarded by Oladipo are shooting just 40.5% this season, far under their normal 46% rate. That ranks second in the league among shooting guards. Among Miami’s current backcourt, the defensive rates are 43.3% for Tyler Herro, 43.8% for Goran Dragic and 45.8% for Kendrick Nunn.
Oladipo is still a productive scorer, averaging 20.3 PPG this season, but his efficiency and three-point shooting have fallen off from his peak years. He also hasn’t played on back-to-back nights yet this season.
“Houston wasn’t the best situation for him,” a Western Conference scout told Jackson. “He had moments where he played very, very well, and I think with more veteran players around him, he will be fine. I’m not so sure how much he wanted to make it work in Houston. This is what Victor has talked about over a year, going to Miami. There will be a lot more buy-in, a lot more want-to. This is what he wanted. He had no three-point shooting around him in Houston. He’ll have that in Miami, at least guys who should be that. Opposing teams will say Oladipo is not the same until he scorches somebody.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Before making his debut with the Bulls Saturday night, Nikola Vucevic offered an emotional message to Orlando, where he spent the past nine years, relays Josh Robbins of The Athletic. “Obviously, it meant a lot to me,” the All-Star center said. “Like I said, I came there as a kid and left as a man. I guess you guys know the answer with my reaction. Leaving that place after so many years obviously was hard.” Vucevic said he knew the Magic were shopping him and he wasn’t surprised when the deal with Chicago was announced.
- Hawks forward John Collins was “super-duper relieved” to remain with the team through the trade deadline, according to Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Collins’ future has been up for speculation since he failed to reach an extension during the offseason, and he’s now on the way to becoming a restricted free agent.
- Wizards forward Chandler Hutchison, who was acquired from the Bulls on Thursday, won’t play for his new team until he participates in a full practice, tweets Ava Wallace of The Washington Post. Chicago had been listing Hutchison as out indefinitely for personal reasons, and he hasn’t been in a game since February 5. However, he told Wallace his conditioning is “off the charts.”
According to newspaper
GM Perry wants Oladipo and Fournier
Perry is the one who draft Fournier
My best guess is that Rose or World Wide Win did not like either of them
Come on, World Wide Win
Knicks are likely to be the 9th seed, I put Bulls and Hawks ahead of them
Are you 8?
Chandler Hutchison citing his conditioning is laughable. He has missed more games in his career than he has played.
Obviously the reason that Oladipo was playing so poorly this season had everything to do with his teammates in Houston and absolutely nothing to do with him. Now that he is with Miami we will see the elite player he used to be before he got hurt playing for Indiana.
I watched him a lot cause Knicks were looking at him. He is not 100% yet. There are days when you can see the hesitation. Where he steps back and is not aggressive with the ball. Takes time for a guy to find his groove after major injury. Plus a new team and offense. I’m not counting him out. I mean he still put up 20. But I see a guy who is not there yet. And making sure he gets another contract and not getting hurt before he signs. Heat is a good place for him. Next yr we will see the real Oladipo imo.
He hasn’t played a full season in over 3 years. I know people are under the impression that he had no talent around him in Houston, but that’s just not true. The Rockets will be better off without him as Kevin Porter Jr has a much brighter future in the NBA than Oladipo.
People think Houston is at the bottom. They look at the standings. Rocket talent will be hard to sync and motivate, as the Dipo experience suggests for real not for delusion.
Al the article was about Dipo’s quality defense this season, for real, in case you skipped it.
It’s funny how everyone acts like the Heat got an absolute steal in the Oladipo trade.
The Rockets did get 2 quality players from them in Kelly Olynyk and Avery Bradley.
Olynyk looked great in his first game. He was forced to start when Wood was a late scratch and he scored 16 points as Houston destroyed the Wolves. But somehow we’re supposed to believe that Dipo wearing a Miami uniform is going to magically transform him into the elite player he was a few years ago. Good luck with that.