Victor Oladipo Sitting Out of NBA Restart; Pacers Championship Odds Remain Distant +10000

• All-Star guard Victor Oladipo is officially out of the restart to the 2020 NBA season
• How will his absence impact the format for the 2019-20 NBA season restart?
• Analysis of this impact and odds on outcomes are assessed in the following story

With or without Victor Oladipo, the Indiana Pacers weren’t going to be in the hunt for the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

Without Oladipo, Indiana might be in line for the Larry Fine Trophy. Minus their best player, the Pacers figure to get slapped around like one of the Three Stooges.

Recovering from a torn quad tendon, NBA All-Star Oladipo confirmed Friday that he didn’t feel comfortable returning to action.

That’s certainly good news for the teams that will face the Pacers during the NBA’s eight seeding games designed to set up the playoff round.

Indiana is listed as a +10000 longshot in the 2020 NBA Championship odds.

2020 NBA Championship Odds

Odds taken July 3rd.

The NBA Return To Play format is slated to get underway July 30 across three venues at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.

Oladipo Sits Down

In an interview with The Athletic, Oladipo outlined his reasoning behind the decision: that it would be in his best interests to sit out the NBA restart.

https://twitter.com/_J_ERA/status/1279140676492562434?s=20

“With all the variables, from how I have to build my 5-on-5 workload back up, to the increased risk of a soft tissue injury which could delay my rehab, and the unknown exact set up of the bubble I just can’t get my mind to being fully comfortable in playing,” Oladipo explained.

He will still travel to Orlando to be with his teammates. Oladipo’s decision has the full backing of Pacers management.

In his first two seasons with Indiana, Oladipo became the fourth player in Pacers history to make the NBA All-Star Team in consecutive seasons. He scored 27 points in just 28 minutes on the floor in his final game of this season on March 10 against the Boston Celtics.

Pacers Impacting Races

Indiana and the Philadelphia 76ers are deadlocked at 39-26 for the #5 seed in the Eastern Conference. They’ll meet right off the bat on Aug. 1st. That must be advantage Sixers.

Likewise, the fourth-seeded Miami Heat (41-24) get a pair of games against Indiana minus Oladipo. That’s got to help Miami’s chances of hunting down the Celtics (43-21) for the #3 seed.

Victor Oladipo has opted to sit out the NBA restart:

In his first 2 seasons with IND, he joined Reggie Miller, Jermaine O'Neal and Paul George as the only players in Pacers history to make consecutive All-Star teams.

In his final outing this year, he scored 27 pts in 28 mins. pic.twitter.com/4fickrd1uc

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 3, 2020

Out West, the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder are knotted up at 40-24 for the #5 seed and only one game back of the #4 Utah Jazz (41-23). Of that trio, only the Rockets get to face Indiana’s depleted lineup.

A Prop Worthy Of  Consideration

At the other end of the table, the Washington Wizards and Orlando Magic each drew a game against the Pacers. Both clubs are among the teams fighting for the eighth seed in the East.

Those games could impact a prop wager as to which team will end up as #8 seed. The Brooklyn Nets (30-34) hold the #7 seed by a half-game over the 30-35 Magic. The Wizards (24-40) are 5.5 games back of Orlando.

2020 NBA Eastern Conference Eighth Seed Odds

The Magic and Nets square off twice. Orlando’s conference crossover games feature the Sacramento Kings (28-36) and New Orleans Pelicans (28-36).

Orlando looks well-positioned to overtake the Nets. Washington’s slate includes games against the Celtics, 76ers, Thunder and the Milwaukee Bucks, the Eastern Conference’s top seed. The odds of the Wizards catching the Nets are unlikely.

Pick: Brooklyn Nets (-105).