Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo is preaching patience as he tries to work his way back into a role with the team.
Oladipo returned to Miami’s rotation back on March 7, but he has missed four games already since returning. Despite that, the Heat guard is optimistic that taking a patient approach is the correct decision in his case.
“Obviously, you can’t hurry love,” Oladipo told the Sun Sentinel. “So you can’t hurry this, either. So at the end of the day, I’m back, playing. But we got to be smart about it, obviously.
“You don’t want to do too much too fast, whatever the case may be. But I’m going to do whatever I can, with whatever I’m doing. So just got to go out there and keep playing hard.”
This season, Oladipo is averaging 6.3 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 37.5 percent from the field and 25.0 percent from beyond the arc.
It makes sense that Oladipo doesn’t want to rush his comeback, as he could be a key part of the team’s rotation in the playoffs this season.
Oladipo is also set to become an unrestricted free agent following conclusion of the current season, so he can’t afford another injury if he wants to maximize his value this offseason.
The former first-round pick played his most minutes of the 2021-22 season in Miami’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets on March 26. He scored nine points and added six assists and three rebounds.
It will be interesting to see how Oladipo and the team approach his role for the remainder of the regular season as the Heat prepare to make a deep playoff run this postseason.