The Indiana Pacers are going to have to learn to live without Victor Oladipo.
The All-Star guard, who has been sidelined for the past six games due to a sore right knee injury, will be out indefinitely, as the Pacers announced through their website on Friday.
"The Indiana Pacers announced Friday that Victor Oladipo will be out indefinitely as he continues to deal with a sore right knee. Further updates will be provided when warranted."
While the Pacers painted a grim picture regarding Oladipo's injury, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN had a more positive spin to the story. According to Woj, Oladipo will return in the "near future."
"Pacers All-Star guard Victor Oladipo (sore right knee) is still working himself back into game condition and is expected to return in the near future, league sources tell ESPN. There are no structural issues with his knee."
The prolonged absence of their franchise player is obviously not a good thing, but the Pacers have managed to stay afloat in the Eastern Conference standings without their All-Star guard. They're 3-3 without him and they have the fifth-best record in the conference.
Luckily for the Pacers, their next five games (through Dec. 10) are against teams that are below .500. They'll play the 10-11 Sacramento Kings twice, the 5-17 Chicago Bulls, the 10-12 Orlando Magic and the 8-13 Washington Wizards.
Oladipo had averaged 21.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game on 44.0 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from 3-point range in 16 games prior to his injury.
In the meantime, Tyreke Evans will continue to start at shooting guard in Oladipo's place. The veteran guard has averaged 9.0 points in 23.4 minutes per game in Oladipo's absence.
The Pacers will play their next game in Sacramento against the Kings on Saturday (10 p.m. ET -- watch on fuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension). Hopefully they can rack up enough wins during Oladipo's absence -- however long it might last.
