Miami Heat: How Much Does Not Having Victor Oladipo Hurt Them?
The Miami Heat are on the cusp of potentially making another run at an NBA title. With a similar team in tow as the one they had last season, save for a few pieces or so, they will look to make just as big of an impact now as they did in the NBA Bubble just a year ago.
Like last season, the Miami Heat were fortunate enough to be able to make a few moves at the NBA trade deadline. Unfortunately enough for them though, one of those moves, Victor Oladipo, has not yielded as much fruit as they might have hoped.
Being out for quite a while now and having had season-ending surgery on his right quadriceps tendon, it’s worth asking the question. How much does not having Oladipo hurt the Miami Heat in their upcoming playoff run?
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The Miami Heat shot their shot at the NBA’s trade deadline again this year, landing Victor Oladipo. Does not having him now hurt them a ton?
Well, to be honest, not a lot. It’s one thing to have had something and to lose it.
It’s something totally different though to have never really had it to miss it though. Though they had him in the lineup for a few games, again, they only had him for a few games.
Even when he was on the floor for them though, he didn’t do anything special. Now, he had only been there a couple of games, as mentioned, so to say that he was still working his way into things would be fair.
This isn’t a knock on him, it’s just to say that he hadn’t started to have a major impact yet. For that reason, you have to say that it won’t hurt them much at all.
They didn’t really get him near his peak anyway, so, it’s not like they are losing the All-Star version of him, as they never truly had it. The Miami Heat are the same now, as they were before they landed him.
While Kelly Olynyk was a blow in that deal, they’ve since acquired Dewayne Dedmon, who though does it differently than KO, makes his absence a moot point. Dedmon is a big that provides something else the Miami Heat were missing, where Kelly gave them versatility and spacing from the big position.
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In any event, when it comes to Victor Oladipo and whether his absence hurts them for their potential upcoming run, the answer is no. He would have been a great piece to have, but they are just as capable without his services at the moment.