Victor Oladipo is making it easy for Pacers fans to get over Paul George

Everything about Victor Oladipo’s game-winning shot against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday looked off. He nearly rolled an ankle while planting one of his feet. The shot grazed the rafters, it felt like, much higher than his typical release. And this will sound mean, but it was weird that he made it. Because, you know, Paul George usually didn’t.

Oladipo isn’t George — clearly. The two are compared due to the trade that finally ended the George era, though, a player who had been Indiana’s favorite son over the past half-decade until he clearly told the front office this summer that he wouldn’t be returning when his contract was up. Oladipo was one half of the return — the Pacers also got Domantas Sabonis, who has been excellent — for George, and he has been even better than anyone could have imagined.

After hitting the game-winner against the Spurs, Oladipo yelled out, “THIS IS MY CITY” — he spent three years playing for the Indiana Hoosiers in college. Funnily enough, George yelled the exact same thing after hitting a big shot last season.

That’s nice, but George requested a trade just a few months later. Indiana fans are quickly reassigning any rights George had to their city to a new player, one who once actually chose to live here.

Oladipo actually looks like George right now in terms of production, at least offensively. Pacers fans aren’t actually expecting him to be that guy, however. There are two important things at play right now that can coexist.

Six games isn’t a meaningful sample size, but as 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie says, every game is a data point. Oladipo has one 35-point game, and a couple more where he scored 28. For an Indiana Pacers team that wasn’t sure how it would score consistently, this is a big relief.

Oladipo, a career 34.9 percent career three-point shooter, won’t remain at the 47 percent clip he is now. He’s attempting the same number of threes as he did in Oklahoma City last year, but they look different. Last year, more than 30 percent of his attempted threes came from the corners, but 30 of Oladipo’s first 32 three-point attempts have come above the break in Indiana. Likewise, after 88 percent of his threes were assisted with the Thunder, Oladipo has thrived off hitting pull-up shots in isolation. Only 53 percent of his threes so far have been assisted.

Oladipo is shooting better than he ever has while taking much more difficult attempts. If he sustains this, then he might actually be a George replacement, but he doesn’t need to be that. When those numbers inevitably fall off a little, Oladipo will be fine.

Oladipo’s shooting his best rate within three feet of the rim of his career, and subsequently, a career high on two-pointers in general. Just from the eye test, it’s clear how comfortable Oladipo looks off the dribble. He knows his role, and that Indiana is asking him to make plays for them.

This wasn’t always true in Oklahoma City, and that’s the most significant criticism that can be lobbied at Russell Westbrook’s MVP season last year. Oladipo was a perfect candidate for improvement. He didn’t, and Westbrook’s ball dominance may have hindered that.

Maybe that helped induce Oladipo’s 35-point explosion against Westbrook and the Thunder. It’s not malicious. It’s just Oladipo saying, “Look at what I can do. Look at what I wasn’t allowed to do last year.”

Indiana would love for Oladipo to be this player, but they would be fine if he’s something between this and his Oklahoma City self last season, too. Some regression, following a start this hot, is no reason for panic.

Oladipo is not Paul George, but Pacers fans just need someone else to rally around. George was their team’s mainstay, and he kept giving false hope that he might actually stick around. If that had happened, this would all be so different than it is now. Instead, the Pacers are stuck with Oladipo — but it is turning out that Oladipo is not such a bad guy to be stuck with, all things considered.