The Miami Heat were down a ton of guys coming into their Tuesday night matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Virtually missing four starters, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Caleb Martin, and Kyle Lowry, they would be tasked to get the job done without them.
And because a name that’s often on the injury report—wasn’t for this particular game, Jimmy Butler, you knew it meant a big night for him. But it would also mean a big night for another hard-working two-way guy that has seen himself resurging to form recently.
Victor Oladipo came into this game playing some of the best basketball that he has across his Heat tenure and the best he’s looked in the last few years, honestly. Needing everything that they could get from all of their guys on Tuesday, he would be their second-ranked guy on a list of high-impact players if you had one for this game and it showed.
Especially when you consider plays like this one.
fresh moves in the paint pic.twitter.com/ABEsGWEzzR
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) January 11, 2023
Fast forwarding to the end of the fourth period, winning time but only after the Miami Heat had allowed the game to yo-yo around for three and three-fourths of a period, the Thunder would find themselves up five points with just under two minutes to play.
And needing something to continue to give them hope and motivation in a bleak scenario, here is what the former NBA All-Star did for his current bunch with just around 40 seconds remaining on the clock.
The Miami Heat needed all they could get from all the guys they had on Tuesday night. And when it comes to Victor Oladipo, he understood the assignment.
Bringing them to within two, the Miami Heat would need just one stop to get them a chance to tie the ball game. And though they couldn’t get it, instead falling victim to a terrible foul call on a jump shooter, the shooter would miss both free throws to set all things right with the Hoops Gods.
But then, the Miami Heat did it again. They almost pulled a “them”.
An issue that has afflicted them all season long, they allowed the Thunder to collect an offensive board off their own miss. But that wasn’t the end of it, at least not in Oladipo’s book, as he would make this happen for his team in that oh-so-crucial moment.
You love the grit, determination, intelligence, the active hands, and actual ability to get this done on the defensive side by him. But then, you equally or have a greater love for the intelligence and unselfishness he showed as he rushed the ball upcourt to get it to his superstar.
And the rest, as they say, is history. However, it must be noted that none of it exists without Oladipo’s stellar play throughout the game and especially there at the end.
And that is why this win was proof positive that the version of Oladipo that we are currently seeing is, once again, “special”.