After coming away with wins in each of their first two scrimmages, the Pacers have their final tune-up on Tuesday afternoon against the Spurs before resuming the 2019-20 NBA season on Saturday.
The Blue & Gold have to be pleased with their play so far in the scrimmages, particularly after Sunday’s 118-111 victory over Dallas. Four starters scored between 15 and 20 points in limited minutes.
Two-time All-Star Victor Oladipo looked like the Oladipo of old, tallying 16 points and going 4-for-8 from 3-point range while also tallying seven rebounds and three assists. He was dominant for long stretches, pushing the tempo and reading the defense before either attacking the basket or setting up his teammates. Oladipo has yet to commit to playing when the season resumes this weekend, but his promising play in the scrimmages can only offer him encouragement about the strength of his surgically repaired knee.
Meanwhile, Myles Turner made his Orlando debut on Sunday after sitting out the first scrimmage with a calf bruise. Turner also looked sharp, finishing with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting, eight rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. The 6-11 big man moved back to his natural offensive center position due to the absence of All-Star Domantas Sabonis, who left the bubble late last week to seek medical treatment for plantar fasciitis in his left foot.
Make no mistake, the Pacers still have plenty to work on before the games start to count, particularly when it comes to ramping up their conditioning after a four-and-a-half-month layoff. But the early returns have been good and another strong performance on Tuesday would give Indiana fans plenty of optimism heading into the restart.
Once again, Tuesday’s scrimmage will be streamed live on Pacers.com and in the Pacers mobile app for fans within a 75-mile radius of downtown Indianapolis. Fans outside that radius can catch the game on NBA TV.
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