Indiana Pacers star Victor Oladipo decided not to play when the 2019-20 NBA season resumes at Disney World in Orlando later this month. Oladipo tore his quadruple tendon last season and made his return in late January, just about six weeks before the game was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As a result of his health situation, Oladipo told The Athletic in an interview that he just doesn’t feel comfortable going back to play in these circumstances. However, he will still travel with the team.
“I really want to play, and as a competitor and teammate this is tearing me apart. I feel like I’m in a great place in my rehab and getting closer and closer to 100 percent. With all the variables, how to increase my load. working 5v5, with the highest risk of a soft tissue injury that could delay my rehab, and the exact unknown setting of the bubble, I just can’t make my mind feel completely comfortable playing “I have to be smart and This decision has not been easy, but I really believe that continuing on the course I am on and being completely healthy for the 2020-21 season is the right decision for me. “
The good news is that this is not the result of any kind of pushback during quarantine. Both Oladipo and the Pacers believe that he is healthy and progressing well, they just think that it is not worth risking to play under these stressful and unique conditions. Especially considering that players who suffer the same injury as Oladipo are more susceptible to soft tissue injuries in subsequent years.
“This type of injury takes time to recover,” said Oladipo’s physical therapist. “This is a very rare injury. He’s playing that smart and we see it as: he came back, he went into rotation, he felt the game and his knee really responded well, and we had to shut all this down.” because of the pandemic. We still haven’t been able to play five-on-five due to the circumstances. Now we are asking the boys to increase in 21 days. That’s a very short window for a person with his type of injury. “
On the way to Orlando, there are all kinds of health problems, mainly related to the coronavirus pandemic, and for good reason, as cases are emerging and we still don’t fully understand the long-term effects of the disease. However, the possibility of an increased risk of injury is also a serious problem.
Most players were unable to train as they normally do in the past few months, and will now be forced to climb into a training camp situation, and then high intensity games in a fairly short period of time. For men like Oladipo who are already dealing with the effects of serious injury, it makes sense to take the long-term approach.
From a basketball perspective, this is obviously a big blow to the Pacers’ chances of making some noise in the East. Actually, they were a bit worse with Oladipo on the court (net rating differential minus-2.6) in the 13 games since he returned, and he hadn’t found his rhythm. But that was a small sample size after he just returned from a year off, and he’s by far his most talented player.
Now, they will have to play in Orlando without him. Heading into the restart, they’re tied with the Philadelphia 76ers for fifth place in the Eastern Conference at 39-26, and while they’re still a surprising distance from the Miami Heat for the fourth seed, getting there doesn’t matter all that much without homecourt advantage anymore. .
