The stat says a lot about the repeated absences of Victor Oladipo since joining the Heat in March 2021. In 21 months, and before tonight, the former All-Star rear had only played 27 games, including 15 in the playoffs. But after having gone through long periods of doubt, to the point of considering ending his career, he returned to the field this night for the arrival of the Pistons.
Collectively, it went very badly since the Heat lost 20 points at home, after a big crack in the second half. But for Victor Oladipo, there is first the pleasure of playing again.
“Obviously, this is not the result that we wanted or that I wanted. but I’m happy to play again. It’s just good to be on the pitch. I am optimistic that I will continue to improve. Everything will happen naturally. »
In fact, Victor Oladipo came into play four minutes from the end of the first quarter in place of Caleb Martin. After a nice ovation from the public, he was immediately thrown into the deep end with a nice foul on him as soon as he touched the ball. He put his shots, and then he played 19 minutes. He finished with 9 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, with a 3 of 9 shooting.
Victor Oladipo, more than three years of struggle, injuries and relapses
For Erik Spoelstra, his performance is encouraging, but in press conferencehe explains that he first retains the human aspect of such a return.
“It is primarily on a human level. Let’s forget basketball, the way he played tonight or what he looked like… For me, there is above all the human aspect and we are really happy for him. He’s been through so much in over three years… He’s shown so much perseverance and strength to work out of sight. We find ourselves alone, and it’s complicated for anyone. The fact that he is back is an important step. »
The Heat coach also warns that he should not be expected to play more, even if there are many absentees.
“We’re going to temper the expectations around him because his playing time will be limited for a while, but the most important thing is that he felt very good. As I speak to you, he was already ready to go to the bodybuilding. It’s a good sign, and it means that everything went well. This means that the program he followed was the right one”.
| Victor Oladipo | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2013-14 | ENT | 80 | 31 | 41.9 | 32.7 | 78.0 | 0.5 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 3.2 | 0.5 | 13.8 |
| 2014-15 | ENT | 72 | 36 | 43.6 | 33.9 | 81.9 | 0.7 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 17.9 |
| 2015-16 | ENT | 72 | 33 | 43.8 | 34.8 | 83.0 | 0.7 | 4.1 | 4.8 | 3.9 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 16.0 |
| 2016-17 | OKAY | 67 | 33 | 44.2 | 36.1 | 75.3 | 0.6 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 15.9 |
| 2017-18 | IND | 75 | 34 | 47.7 | 37.1 | 79.9 | 0.6 | 4.6 | 5.2 | 4.3 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 23.1 |
| 2018-19 | IND | 36 | 32 | 42.3 | 34.3 | 73.0 | 0.6 | 5.0 | 5.6 | 5.2 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 18.8 |
| 2019-20 | IND | 19 | 28 | 39.4 | 31.7 | 81.4 | 0.5 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 2.5 | 0.2 | 14.5 |
| 2020-21 * | All Teams | 33 | 33 | 40.8 | 32.6 | 75.4 | 0.4 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 19.8 |
| 2020-21 * | HOO | 20 | 34 | 40.7 | 32.0 | 78.3 | 0.4 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 21.2 |
| 2020-21 * | IND | 9 | 33 | 42.1 | 36.2 | 73.0 | 0.1 | 5.6 | 5.7 | 4.2 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 20.0 |
| 2020-21 * | MIA | 4 | 28 | 37.2 | 23.5 | 66.7 | 0.8 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 1.8 | 3.5 | 0.5 | 12.0 |
| 2021-22 | MIA | 8 | 22 | 47.9 | 41.7 | 73.7 | 0.4 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 0.1 | 12.4 |
| Total | 462 | 33 | 43.8 | 34.8 | 79.0 | 0.6 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 17.4 | |
