Victor Oladipo injury update: Pacers star won't set a timetable for his return to the floor

Victor Oladipo has not played in an NBA game since January. A ruptured quad tendon in his right knee has kept him out since, but despite missing more than 10 months, it still isn't clear when Oladipo will take the floor for the Indiana Pacers. The team announced Wednesday that there still is not a timetable for his eventual return, and he revealed at practice that he is trying to take things slowly to ensure that when he does come back, it will be at full strength. 

"Just trying to get the feel back," he said after practice according to Akeem Glaspie of the Indianapolis Star. "Coming out here just playing, taking it easy. Not trying to do anything spectacular. When injuries come around you try to rush things. When you rush your body, that's when things kinda go south. Just gotta be smart about it."

Fortunately for Oladipo, the Pacers have no reason to rush him. They have thrived in his absence so far this season. Offseason addition Malcolm Brogdon has grown into an All-Star-caliber player in Indiana just as Oladipo once did. Both thrived with more ball-handling duties, and the two should form one of the most ferocious defensive backcourts in the NBA once Oladipo is healthy. As well as Brogdon has played, though, the bulk of Indiana's success this season should be credited to the breakout of a player who was once traded alongside Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis. 

Sabonis is averaging career-highs in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals, and has led the Pacers to a 13-7 start despite injuries to just about everyone except Oladipo. It is the emergence of players like Sabonis and Brogdon that makes Indiana so dangerous. With Oladipo as their sole star during the 2017-18 campaign, the Pacers won 48 games. Once they can add him to this season's deeper roster, they should be able to make a serious push towards the top of the Eastern Conference.