The Oklahoma City Thunder received some good news earlier today when it was reported that Victor Oladipo would be playing tonight, returning to the lineup after spraining his wrist.
Victor Oladipo will play tonight, per the Thunder.
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) December 31, 2016
Victor Oladipo took a scary fall in the first quarter of the Thunder’s game against the Boston Celtics on December 11th. The Thunder would go on to squeak out a victory, but the fall resulted in a sprained wrist for Oladipo that sidelined him for 9 games. The Thunder went 5-4 in those games, which has allowed them to stay in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race.
Oladipo has averaged 16.1 points a game to go with 4.5 rebounds, while knocking down 38.1% of his 3 point shots. He also has the ability to play some point guard which should help ease some of the burden on Russell Westbrook.
His return will also reset the normal player rotations for the Thunder. During Oladipo’s absence the Thunder started both Jerami Grant and Anthony Morrow, and both had mixed results.
An interesting subplot to watch with Victor’s return will be if Alex Abrines receives Anthony Morrow’s minutes in the rotation, which will likely put Morrow back on the bench Something tells me this is a must, as his outside shooting and playmaking have earned him those minutes.