Happy Holiday: Pacers Win Without Oladipo
Last night, the Indiana Pacers defeated the Utah Jazz 121-94 in Indianapolis, and in doing so, got their first win without Victor Oladipo since the All-NBA star joined the team in 2017.
After going 0-7 in games without Oladipo last season, the Pacers finally got the job done without their go-to guy on Monday night, and they did so in a dominant fashion. Indiana’s 121 points were good for it’s second highest point total this season.
Last season, in those 7 games that Oladipo sat out, the Pacers averaged only 97.9 points, which was much worse than their season average of 105.2. Against Utah, the Pacers worked together to replace Oladipo’s offense, as they had six players score 12 or more points,
The Pacers’ passers lead the way Monday night as the team notched a season-high 35 assists, while racking up only nine turnovers. Big man Domantas Sabonis led the team in assists with nine, to complement his 19 points and nine rebounds.
That assist-to-turnover ratio of nearly 4-to-1 was markedly better than what the Pacers could muster without Oladipo last season. In the seven games he missed, the Pacers averaged 22 assists and 13.7 turnovers, for a ratio of 1.6-to-1.
Rookie point guard Aaron Holiday provided a huge boost off the bench for the Pacers Monday night, as he scored a career-high 19 points on 7-10 shooting, and also added seven rebounds and one assist.
Holiday also scored 12 points in 15 minutes Saturday night against the Hawks, when Oladipo first injured his right knee. In a duel of rookie point guards, Holiday outscored the Hawks' Trae Young 12-9.
So to recap, Holiday has scored 31 points in just 36 minutes off the bench in the two games since Oladipo injured his knee. He has been an impact player off the bench and late in games in this short stretch and has proven himself worthy of more minutes in a crowded Pacers backcourt.
With the emergence of Holiday and the additions of Tyreke Evans and Doug McDermott, this Pacers team has much more depth than last season. Those three will help boost the Indiana offense when Oladipo is forced to sit out, and when he’s healthy, they can provide a scoring punch off the bench.
All of this goes to say that the Pacers won’t be helpless when Oladipo misses time like they were last season. And if this team can consistently perform at this level when Oladipo sits out, it will be a true contender for a top-3 seed in the Eastern Conference come playoff time.