Victor Oladipo feeling the pressure of attention on offense
Victor Oladipo has begun his star turn and defenses are noticing, putting more pressure and attention on the young budding star.
There was a real chance for Victor Oladipo to win Eastern Conference Player of the Week for March 2-8. The whispers around Orlando was that he was preparing to make his “superstar turn.”
It was hard to argue after Oladipo put up back-to-back 30-point games and played the role of superstar. Oladipo averaged 28.3 points per game on a 60.1 percent effective field goal percentage during the four-game homestand from March 1 to March 8. As Eddy Rivera detailed for The Cauldron, Oladipo is sniffing some rare air in his sophomore year.
It was an incredible string of play for Oladipo.
Then the Magic went on the road, attention got put on him and the bottom fell out.
“This is new territory. He had some of it last year. He had a little bit early this year. I think teams are right now keying in on him.” –James Borrego
“This is new territory,” coach James Borrego said. “He had some of it last year. He had a little bit early this year. I think teams are right now keying in on him. They see how better he’s gotten, how much more aggressive he is. We’re tyring to move him around so teams can’t key in on him. But he and Payton need to get to the rim more in transtiion and flow. When we get stops, that’s our best offense. And that’s where we want those two to get going.”
During the three game road trip from March 10-13, Oladipo averaged 12.7 points per game on a 33.7 percent effective field goal percentage.
That is quite the drop off in one week’s time. Oladipo told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel that he is feeling the pressure of defenses really focusing on him for the first time, and it is something he has to get accustomed to:
"“Teams are doubling me now and bringing just everybody, pretty much swarming me,” Oladipo said before the Magic faced the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on Friday night. “So I’ve got to do a good job finding my teammates, and the openings will come up later. I’ve just got to be patient out there."
This is one of the growing pains a young star has to go through as he finds himself. Oladipo has shown the potential to put up big numbers and take over games. But now he has to find a way to do it consistently to attain that star status.
And with great numbers, comes great attention from opposing defenses. Something that has tightened around him like a vice of late.
Oladipo, in his second year, is still learning and adjusting to defenses looking to bump him off his game and put him on the floor when he drives to the basket. Until he learns to get to the foul line more (or until he gets referee’s respect to get the call), he may remain a bit inefficient around the basket.
“It’s huge for our team, huge for my game,” Oladipo said of his ability to get to the foul line. “I’ve got to continue how to keep learning how to get to the line, draw fouls and keep making my free throws.
“I believe it is a skill,” Oladipo added. “The best person who does it in our league is James Harden. I think James is one of the best guys doing it right now. I think it is a skill and something you have to acquire.”
For now, Oladipo is shooting 51.8 percent on shots of less than 10 feet. Not bad, but those are supposed to be the easiest shots. Oladipo is getting to the rim plenty, taking 452 of his 833 field goal attempts (54.3 percent) within 10 feet.
Where Oladipo has struggled to take that leap is in getting to the foul line. Oladipo has taken 252 free throw attempts against 833 field goal attempts — a 30.3 percent free throw rate. His rookie season, he had a 34.0 percent free throw rate and took 47.5 percent of his field goals within 10 feet, making 49.1 percent of them.
It would seem Oladipo has improved on everything except his ability to get to the line in his second year.
This bodes well for him moving forward.
But Oladipo’s sudden “star turn” has also brought defensive focus on to him. Nothing may have been clearer than what occurred during Oladipo’s 29-point outing against the Rockets. After Oladipo torched James Harden for most of the game, the Rockets switched Corey Brewer onto him in the third and fourth quarters.
It is hard to argue with the results.
Oladipo is still figuring out how to handle this kind of added attention. And it comes down to his coaches to put him the best position to succeed.
“When he can get out and get early baskets to the rim, defense isn’t set, that’s going to help him,” James Borrego said. “That’s the best shot we can give him. I can’t draw anything up that gives him a better shot than that. He’s a very aggressive player getting to the rim. He has probably missed some shots that he mostly converts.
“A lot of times right now, the defense is keyed in on him. He is trusting his teammates making the right play. The ball is moving more which is producing these later shots. But we want his aggressiveness. We want him to be our playmaker. We are going to put the ball in his hands at the end of games and throughout the game. Defenses are keying in on him and he is making the right play.”
Oladipo did that against the Rockets. He and Elfrid Payton often pushed the pace to beat the Rockets down the court. And the Magic’s offense worked extremely efficiently during that short stretch when the team pushed the pace somewhat recklessly.
No doubt too Oladipo is much more successful when he is in transition or secondary transition. He often drives when he has a head of steam behind him, starting closer to half court to get something of a running start.
Like with everything with Oladipo, he will continue to improve as he gets more experience. This is just his second year in the NBA, after all.
For now, Oladipo continues to put his head down and seek to be aggressive. Because that is what his team needs him to do at the end of the day.
And no matter what kind of game, he starts off having, he just has to keep the same scorer’s mentality that has put him to these new heights, fighting through the defense and added attention to get there.
“I’ve got to stay aggressive no matter what,” Oladipo said. “No matter if I have a slow start, a good start, a medium start. I feel like if I am aggressive, we have a good chance to win. I’ve got to keep doing that.”
With that mindframe, Oladipo is certain to get where he is going to go.