Victor Oladipo finds his consistency through offensive struggles

Victor Oladipo‘s offensive numbers have been less than stellar or consistent. Still Oladipo has found a role on a winning team, and that is all that maters.

Victor Oladipo’s game Wednesday night against the Brooklyn Nets was extremely hard to peg down.

In one moment Oladipo was smother Shane Larkin, keeping him from doing anything and harassing him into a turnover. He has done that so many times this year as one of the best, most physical and athletic defenders the Orlando Magic have.

This was Oladipo at his best.

Then he was speeding down the court as quickly as he could, the kind of open court, fast-break play Oladipo is supposed to thrive in. And when he finally got to the rim, the ball came up short, contested well in the end.

Or there was the time Oladipo got another steal only to turn the ball over immediately trying to outlet on a fast break.

The good plays were always seemingly followed by bad plays.

Oladipo’s stat line was weird too. 12 points, 3-for-11 shooting, seven rebounds, three assists, five turnovers and +15.

Rarely is plus/minus in an individual game indicative of anything. But with how inconsistent Oladipo was in this game, it does mean something.

Oladipo may not have been racking up the counting stats, he may not have been making shots consistently, he may have been a bit wild. But when push came to shove, Oladipo made the right plays. He dug down defensively and energized a lethargic Magic squad to go on an 11-2 run late in the third quarter that began literally the moment Oladipo checked into the second half.

His missed 3-pointer led to a Tobias Harris put-back dunk and the Magic were back in business for this game.

While nothing this extreme has happened for Oladipo this year, hard-to-measure performances have become the norm for him. It has led to plenty of criticism of the young guard as he has failed to take the full and complete step to stardom some had carved out for him.

That has not become the reality. And while Oladipo has noticed the downturn in his offensive numbers and still believes he can be a truly great player in the league, for now he is accepting his role.

And he directly urged fans to do the same.

“A lot of people are worried about the numbers and me not shooting well and me not finishing well,” Oladipo said. “At the end of the day, I’m not, but we’re winning. I’m doing what I can to help win. I’m going in there as hard as I can and trying. it is what it is. People going to hate, people going to be upset about it. People are going to have their opinions, but I really don’t care. I’m going to be great either way.”

There is no doubting Oladipo’s effort since moving to the bench. There is also no doubting the team’s success since that point too — 13-5 in the 18 games since then. There is no choice but to accept the role and do his best.

Still Oladipo did sense he was destined for greatness.

It is not just being the No. 2 overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. That carries some weight of expectation. He always had this sense of confidence about him and what kind of player he would be in this league.

He gave that impression toward the end of last season. Oladipo began dominating the ball and scoring efficiently and in bunches — 30-point games and electric play on the ball along with charismatic personality made him the darling for the team’s marketing and for fans.

This season it has not worked that way. Evan Fournier‘s emergence pushed him into the starting lineup and Oladipo to come off the bench. And Oladipo has done little to push for more minutes on a consistent basis.

The Magic and Oladipo are hoping the numbers turn around.

“I work hard,” Oladipo said. “It’s going to fall. Things are going to turn around. I have full belief in that. I’m going to be great, like I’ve been saying since I got here. People can say what they want and believe what they want and have their opinions, but I’m going to go in there and play as hard as I can.”

Those numbers that do not matter to Oladipo go like this: 12.3 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game, 38.3 percent field goal shooting, 26.9 percent shooting from beyond the arc and 42.1 percent effective field goal percentage.

Worse yet, Oladipo shoots 44.3 percent in the restricted area. The league average is 54.7 percent. And he shot 52.4 percent in the same area last year. The decrease is startling.

But Oladipo said he is not concerned. That is part of his never-ending confidence in himself. It is a great quality about him.

“The offense I’m not really worried about,” Oladipo said. “People are worried about it for some reason. I see what people are saying and everyone’s opinions. It’s pretty cool to see actually, because it makes me work even harder. Thank you guys.”

Oladipo has had to find different ways to contribute and has largely done that. Among guards playing at least 25 minutes per game, Oladipo is sixth with a 9.3 percent rebound rate. Essentially, Oladipo grabs one of every 10 rebounds available, which is obviously very good for a guard.

And then there is the defense.

This was the skill Oladipo was always initially drafted for. Within Scott Skiles‘ defensive system, Oladipo can be aggressive and devastating with his athleticism.

In a game like Wednesday where the team is skating by, Oladipo finally turning on the defensive engines proved to be the impetus to help the team push ahead and into the lead.

Oladipo’s stat line may have looked and felt strange or inconsistent, but his defense was its usual solid self.

Live Feed

Thunderous Intentions

“He was his usual, high-level defensive self,” Scott Skiles said. “He played very good defense. We have so many plays that we haven’t been making. We had plays tonight that we hadn’t made since exhibition season that all of a sudden came back — wild passes, we were staring down people and they were deflecting passes. There is 82 times, you are going to have games like this and you aren’t going to be as sharp as you want to be and you have to find a way.”

The Magic certainly were not sharp throughout the game. Oladipo’s play in the second half helped turn things around.

With the offense struggling, defense has been Oladipo’s constant. It has had to be. That was always who he was.

“I’m going to defend if I’m making or missing shots,” Oladipo said. “That’s just who I am. Don’t judge me based on whether I miss or make shots. Judge me on my effort and how I play the game. Anybody in this locker room will tell you I go out and play as hard as I can. I feel like I’m a big reason why we’re winning these games. If you say differently, then you are a fool. That’s just my opinion.”

Oladipo is indeed still a big part of this team. Not one that should be discarded or discredited over a few missed shots, although his inefficiency on offense remain concerning.

Is this new identity enough to make him the star he envisioned? That fans envisioned? That the franchise envisioned?

Eventually for Oladipo to reach those lofty goals he has, he will have to find that scoring touch again. He has shown in his first two years he can at least be respectable at the rim. That might be enough with the way his defense has picked up, becoming Orlando’s best perimeter defender.

As long as the team is winning, his role is clearly defined. Wednesday’s inconsistent, sloppy game is an aberration in that respect.

Still Oladipo is searching for consistency to push back against these offensive criticisms he is clearly thinking about. At some point he will either find it or face the reality of not reaching stardom.

Next: Orlando Magic strike last in game of runs

Right now, his team is winning and Oladipo has found a role to fill in that.