Victor Oladipo Return Will Go Down As All-Time ‘Miami Heat Moment’

Miami Heat: Victor Oladipo Return Will Go Down As All-Time Moment

Of course, Oladipo’s presence, alone, would serve as an alleviator for Miami, but his greatest value will hold for a team that’s dealt with injuries towards the bulk of their depth. More specifically, it’s been to Jimmy Butler, as well as Bam Adebayo, who is now emerging as a post-All-Star revelation and a Defensive Player of the Year candidate.

WHERE CAN VICTOR OLADIPO MAKE AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT UPON HIS RETURN?

After almost a full year without participating in live NBA competition, rust should be expected in his game. That was certainly the case in his four games played after debuting with the Heat last season, where he shot just 16-43 from the field and 4-15 from beyond the arc.

However, it’s never likely for any player coming from a long-term absence to have an efficient shooting display within their first few touches. Although with months of staying conditioned, Victor’s timing and precision off the ball should be near the level he was prior to the quadriceps injury, in which he was one of the most lethal cutters at his position.

To enter this environment, where Kyle Lowry holds the facilitation duties, should make the integration process smoother as well. Another facet where Oladipo will promptly contribute is on the defensive end, as seen last season.

Defensively, many have pictured the idea of Miami adding another All-Defensive first-team type talent into a rotation that’s held the sixth-highest Defensive Rating (108.2) on the season.

While they’ve sustained, being good enough on the season along the perimeter, Miami has been a team in need of another agile threat and especially, one that can create points off of turnovers. As we’ve seen from Oladipo in a Heat jersey before, he does all of the above.

The reinsertion of Oladipo solidifies Miami’s stature as a pure title contender, certainly. More important than all of that though is getting him back on the floor.

Appropriately enough and actually perfect, due to the level of competition they can present, a Monday, March 7th return against the Houston Rockets would be more than ideal for Dipo.