Before Victor Oladipo was set to return on March 7th against the Rockets, Coach Spoelstra made it clear that he would be on a minutes restriction. Oladipo would be limited to 15 minutes in his first game back, with a gradual increase in minutes as he shakes the rust off. Despite this, Heat fans still gave him a warm welcome when he checked into his first game since almost a year ago. Even though he’s only appeared in four games so far and played limited minutes, Oladipo’s shown off his defensive presence and upside on offense.
Oladipo has started slow on the offensive side of the ball, not taking many shots in his small amount of minutes. Oladipo is averaging 5.5 points, 2.8 assists, and 1.3 rebounds. In addition, he’s averaging 5 field goal attempts per game and converting 45% of those shots. If we stretch these stats to 36 minutes per game, Oladipo would be averaging 12.2 points, 6.1 assists, and 2.8 rebounds. Considering that six other Heat players are currently averaging double figures in scoring, these would be pretty good stats off the bench. This doesn’t even take into account Oladipo’s defensive impact, which has already been shown off in a small sample size.
Opponents guarded by Oladipo in these four games have shot 38.5% from the field, 7.3% below the league average. Despite coming off a major injury, Oladipo still displays the lateral quickness and defensive IQ that we’ve seen in the past. Surprisingly enough, the players having the most trouble with Oladipo are power forwards and centers. Jae Crowder shot 0/3 against Oladipo, Evan Mobley shot 0/2, and JaVale McGee shot 1/5. While it’s only been a few games, Oladipo showed that he can improve on a Heat defense that was already among the league’s best.
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