Victor Oladipo Thread

Post #1 » by **boomershadow** » Sat Jul 1, 2017 4:40 pm

Well, let's take a closer look at who we're getting, shall we?

I've heard some very positive reviews about his defense, which encourages me a lot. Our performance on defense last year was pretty miserable and anything that might improve us in that area is very welcome in my opinion. Very welcome. Losing Paul George isn't gonna help in that area either, so any talent we get on the defense end I am all about. Though, in some ways this seems like a very "Larry Bird" acquisition to me for some reason. I almost thought we were done collecting ball dominant combo guards after Larry Bird stepped down, but I guess that's not the case.

He's spent most of his career as a shooting guard, but listed at 6'-4" he is a bit small for the position in a Monta Ellis-esque sort of way. Definitely not the 2/3 swingman sort of player that I tend to prefer on the wings, but that's not necessarily the worst thing ever. I saw a few posts wondering whether he could play any small forward, and I don't see that happening at all. Orlando tried him out at point guard some due in part to his size and play style. It didn't end up panning out that well, and OKC tended to pair him with Westbrook for most of his minutes. Still, the Pacers in the past have tended to use combo guards in that position more than most teams. Is there a possibility he'll see minutes there? Will he share the court with Lance Stephenson, and if he does then would it matter which position you called either of them?

What are the board's thought on our newest, shiniest acquisition?

Wizop · Post #2 » by **Wizop** » Sat Jul 1, 2017 5:12 pm

If this is the final roster, I think he and Lance start. We should be able to run.

TV guys say he wants ball in his hands but that wasn't true at IU. Does it matter if he's a one or a two if he's playing with Lance or Monta?

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Post #3 » by **boomershadow** » Sun Jul 2, 2017 10:00 am

Wizop wrote:If this is the final roster, I think he and Lance start. We should be able to run.

IndyStar speculates that our starting lineup will be Stephenson, Oladipo, GR3, Thad Young, and Turner. That sounds about right for the moment.

I'm not 100% convinced this is the final roster, though. Don't we need more than one small forward on the team? lol

Wizop · Post #4 » by **Wizop** » Sun Jul 2, 2017 11:19 am

boomershadow wrote:
Wizop wrote:If this is the final roster, I think he and Lance start. We should be able to run.

IndyStar speculates that our starting lineup will be Stephenson, Oladipo, GR3, Thad Young, and Turner. That sounds about right for the moment.

I'm not 100% convinced this is the final roster, though. Don't we need more than one small forward on the team? lol

That was my first thought too but then I couldn't fit both Leaf and Sabonis in with meaningful minutes. The new colts approach would be to call that competition. My solution was to move Thad to SF but a friend told me that would be the worst shooting team in the NBA.

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Post #5 » by **ThunderBolt** » Sun Jul 2, 2017 1:25 pm

Dipo's ball handling is pretty weak. He struggles getting to the line. I dont know if you guys saw but he posted some pictures of his fitness makeover this offseason. Some of its a little doctored up with lighting, but it appears he's made getting stronger a priority. He's kind of an enigma because he became possibly the most athletic jump shooter in the NBA. If he gets stronger then I think he'll probably average 20ppg next year.

Jermainevent · Post #6 » by **Jermainevent** » Sun Jul 2, 2017 5:12 pm

I've been holding off on commenting on this trade because I like Victor Oladipo a lot as a player, for various reasons, but mostly because I was there when he helped orchestrate the turnaround at IU. I recognized early on that he had pro potential and could possibly be an NBA All-Star if he continued to develop and evolve as a player.

I saw a talented and raw freshman over the course of a couple of seasons develop into an All Big-Ten player. From many close to the program, there were none harder working than Dipo and I fully expected him to continue that trajectory in the NBA. The last couple of seasons however, he has stagnated in someways as a player. I'll give him a small pass for last season, just because Westbrook had such a high utilization rate and Dipo was getting used to that new environment.

Now he'll have plenty of opportunities to carve out as big as role as he can handle this season back in Indiana, and I'm truly hopeful he can become the NBA player I thought he might be. No, he'll never be PG, but Paul was rarely PG full-time.

Do I think we got as much value out of Paul that we could have? Absolutely not, but rock meet hard place, we get two younger guys who could be nice pieces on a more balanced Pacers team going forward.

FloridaHoosier · Post #7 » by **FloridaHoosier** » Sun Jul 2, 2017 8:57 pm

I've seen every game either in person or on TV that Victor has played in since I.U.. Was a Magic season ticket holder while he was there and watched all the Thunder games on League Pass. Most Magic fans were stunned by the trade to the Thunder for a one year rental that didn't even stay the entire season. Cost our GM his job. His defense is very good and his shooting numbers went up every year except last with the Thunder. The Thunder used him as a Point Guard some when Russ would rest and they didn't have a Point Guard that was better than him. Defensively, he more often than not, guards the best of the other team.

Post #8 » by **boomershadow** » Tue Jul 18, 2017 7:00 pm

https://theringer.com/victor-oladipo-unintentional-new-beginning-indiana-pacers-3b53d1e7bf3d

The Pacers announced that their new 6-foot-5 guard will even wear no. 4 again, as he did under pinstripe warm-ups at IU. But reviving that Dipo, who humiliated the eventual national champion Kentucky Wildcats, won Sporting News Player of the Year, and left school with a Dwyane Wade ceiling, will take more than a jersey number.

perempe20 · Post #9 » by **perempe20** » Tue Aug 8, 2017 10:09 am

Watch on YouTube

MVP of the Africa game

basketballwacko2 · Post #10 » by **basketballwacko2** » Tue Aug 8, 2017 9:35 pm

Don't be shocked if Vic leads the team in scoring I'm gonna project 23 pts, 5rebs, 4.5 assists.

Wizop · Post #11 » by **Wizop** » Wed Aug 9, 2017 2:01 pm

basketballwacko2 wrote:Don't be shocked if Vic leads the team in scoring I'm gonna project 23 pts, 5rebs, 4.5 assists.

I can't imagine anyone but Turner as a possibility and should Turner outscore Vic I think we'd be much better than expected.

basketballwacko2 · Post #12 » by **basketballwacko2** » Wed Aug 9, 2017 4:10 pm

I'm expecting some advancement from Myles Turner hopefully in Rebounding and shot blocking. If he can get the Pacers 18 points 9 rebounds and 3 blocks, he could be a starter on the East All Star team.

Wizop · Post #13 » by **Wizop** » Wed Aug 9, 2017 5:49 pm

It's hard to be an all star starter if your team is headed for less than 30 wins. you all know though that I'm more optimistic than that.

Poetry-In-Motion · Post #14 » by **Poetry-In-Motion** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 3:07 pm

basketballwacko2 wrote:I'm expecting some advancement from Myles Turner hopefully in Rebounding and shot blocking. If he can get the Pacers 18 points 9 rebounds and 3 blocks, he could be a starter on the East All Star team.

I really like Turner but there is absolutely no way Turner makes the East All Star Team as a Starter. Lebron, Giannis, Hayward, Love, Embiid, Kristaps, Whiteside makes it nearly impossible for Turner to get in and take one of the the three spots not given to guards.

basketballwacko2 · Post #15 » by **basketballwacko2** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 7:18 pm

Poetry-In-Motion wrote:
basketballwacko2 wrote:I'm expecting some advancement from Myles Turner hopefully in Rebounding and shot blocking. If he can get the Pacers 18 points 9 rebounds and 3 blocks, he could be a starter on the East All Star team.

I really like Turner but there is absolutely no way Turner makes the East All Star Team as a Starter. Lebron, Giannis, Hayward, Love, Embiid, Kristaps, Whiteside makes it nearly impossible for Turner to get in and take one of the the three spots not given to guards.

Assuming Whiteside and Embiid are healthy they both seem to get hurt a lot.

Poetry-In-Motion · Post #16 » by **Poetry-In-Motion** » Tue Aug 22, 2017 7:51 pm

basketballwacko2 wrote:
Poetry-In-Motion wrote:
basketballwacko2 wrote:I'm expecting some advancement from Myles Turner hopefully in Rebounding and shot blocking. If he can get the Pacers 18 points 9 rebounds and 3 blocks, he could be a starter on the East All Star team.

I really like Turner but there is absolutely no way Turner makes the East All Star Team as a Starter. Lebron, Giannis, Hayward, Love, Embiid, Kristaps, Whiteside makes it nearly impossible for Turner to get in and take one of the the three spots not given to guards.

Assuming Whiteside and Embiid are healthy they both seem to get hurt a lot.

And even if they were hurt... He is still not making it by the names listed.

Post #17 » by **bondom34** » Thu Aug 31, 2017 11:54 pm

https://soundcloud.com/victoroladipo/song-for-you