Victor Oladipo, season in review – Polarizing, yet satisfying
By Gideon Lim
Where to begin:
As mentioned earlier, Victor Oladipo’s biggest issue is his uncertain role on the team. This offseason, the first step forward will be for him to sort this issue out with Billy Donovan.
If the team’s main role is for him to anchor the second unit, then Oladipo should spend some time with his team captain in the film room. But, if the team decides to concentrate Oladipo’s playing time around Westbrook’s, then Oladipo will need to put in more hours into shooting practice.
One player Oladipo can learn from is Avery Bradley. Bradley came into the league with a reputation for defense, much like Oladipo. He then transitioned into a legitimate three-point threat, much like Oladipo’s aims this season.
Still, Bradley’s big transition into one of Boston’s most important players came because of his aggression. Bradley is now a secondary penetration threat after Isaiah Thomas by learning to attack and make reads off-the-catch.
Back to Oladipo:
In Oladipo’s case, he already possesses some of Bradley’s mid-range game. His left-elbow pin-down jumper is one of Westbrook’s staples when it comes to getting Oladipo his shots.
More importantly, Oladipo is way more physical than Bradley. Like Bradley, Oladipo is undersized at the two-guard spot. But, with the whole league transitioning towards smaller line-ups, Oladipo has every right to excel at attacking the basket.
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Unfortunately, his highlight poster against the Hawks seemed more like an anomaly for him.
If he can learn to attack the basket with even half of Westbrook’s ferocity while still managing to keep an eye out for dump-offs, alley-oops ad pick-and-pop options, his new skill could help relieve Westbrook the most.
This summer, Victor Oladipo needs to sit down with Donovan to talk about his role on the team. Chances are, the team will want him to improve on generating offense with the second unit. To that end, time spent this offseason working on his ball handling and passing skill set could reap benefits next season.
Specifically, the Thunder can emulate what many squads do in the Association by having Oladipo be the primary ball handler with the reserve unit and still utilize him principally with the starters. A perfect example is the Toronto Raptors who always have one of Kyle Lowry or DeMar DeRozan on court. Toronto’s All-Star backcourt thereby maintains a number one scoring option as well as a reliable ball handler.
If this indeed happens, then Oladipo will do well to learn to captain the ship the way Westbrook does.