Victor Oladipo's season has come to an end.
After suffering a serious injury during the second quarter of the team's game against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night, the Indiana Pacers announced on Thursday that Oladipo has been diagnosed with a ruptured quad tendon in his right leg and will miss the remainder of the season. It's an injury that's fairly rare for basketball players and extremely challenging to return from.
The medical staff covered Oladipo's knee with a towel after the injury, and he was soon wheeled off the floor on a stretcher.
Let's really, really, really, really hope that Vic is alright. Oladipo goes down with an apparent knee injury and it didn't look good. #Pacers pic.twitter.com/CA6LacMo87
— FOX Sports Indiana (@FSIndiana) January 24, 2019
With just over four minutes remaining in the first half, the Raptors tried to get out on a fast break. After Serge Ibaka grabbed a rebound, he flipped the ball to Kyle Lowry, who threw a long outlet pass down the floor. Oladipo was hustling back on defense when he appeared to slip or get tangled up with Pascal Siakam.
He went to the ground and was grimacing in pain as his teammates called for the doctors. The Pacers' announcers made a comment referencing Oladipo's kneecap, but it's unclear exactly what happened.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski also notes that Charles Barkley and Tony Parker have suffered the same injury and it is a "challenging road back."
Losing Oladipo for the rest of the season certainly isn't good for the Pacers, but according to SportsLine data scientist Stephen Oh, it may not hurt them as much as you'd think.
| Pacers | Wins | Playoff odds | East standings | Win Eastern Conference | Win championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
With Oladipo | 52.6 | 99.9% | #3 | 15.9% | 3.1% |
Without Oladipo | 52.2 | 99.9% | #4 | 15.0% | 2.9% |
Difference | -0.4 | -- | -1 | -0.9% | -0.2% |
In any case, it will be interesting to see how the Pacers play while Oladipo is out of the lineup for the remainder of the season.
