Oladipo plays in Pacers scrimmage but no decision on status for NBA restart

Written by Sports Desk. Posted in NBA. | 23 July 2020 | 648 Views
Tags: Basketball, Indiana Pacers, Nba, Victor Oladipo

Indiana Pacers star Victor Oladipo is yet to decide if he will play when the NBA returns next week, despite featuring in the team's first scrimmage on Thursday.

Oladipo is considering a U-turn on his decision to sit out the remainder of the NBA season, which will resume on July 30 after it was forced to be postponed in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The two-time All-Star, who is working his way back from a ruptured quadriceps tendon suffered in January 2019, announced on July 3 that he was opting out of the campaign in Orlando, Florida before conceding he may change his mind last week.

Oladipo started in Indiana's 91-88 win over the Portland Trail Blazers at Walt Disney Resort, where he scored eight points on three-of-10 shooting in 19 minutes.

However, Oladipo's status ahead of Indiana's return against Eastern Conference rivals the Philadelphia 76ers on August 1 remains undecided.

"I think today was big, just getting our conditioning up and getting a feel for the game again," Oladipo said. "Obviously it's been a minute since all of us have played in a live game. It was just fun to be out there."

Oladipo added: "My body and mind just have to get used to the flow of the game again. That'll come. But overall I felt pretty decent."

"I think you've just got to know if you're OK or not, at the end of the day," Oladipo said. "This is obviously a unique situation, it's a unique injury for myself. I don't think it's me not thinking I can do it; I know my body better than anyone else. I know what I'm feeling. No one else knows what I'm feeling.

"Even though it might look good to you, or to whoever that's looking at me, I hold myself to a different standard, so the abilities that I'm used doing, you've never done it before. Ain't none of y'all have. You understand?

"So for me, I'm trying to get back to that, you understand, trying to get back to that feeling, trying to get back to make sure my knee, myself is 100 per cent so I can go and perform at the highest level that you guys are used to seeing me at. That's what it's all about."