Victor Oladipo's return to the postseason didn't go how he planned. Just 8:34 into his first playoff game in 28 months on Tuesday afternoon, Oladipo was poked in the left eye by Miami forward Jae Crowder.
Oladipo hit the floor immediately and when he lifted his head, television cameras revealed the type of swelling one might expect to see in the eye of a boxer eight rounds into a title fight.
Oladipo wound up leaving the game and did not return. Without their two-time All-Star, the Pacers hung tough for most of the night, but Miami pulled away down the stretch to come away with a 113-101 victory in Game 1 of the best-of-seven first-round series.
After the game, Oladipo went to the NBA's on-site clinic in Orlando for further examination. That evaluation showed no immediate concerns and Oladipo's status is now day-to-day.
He was officially listed as questionable for Game 2 on the injury report released Wednesday night. He participated in Wednesday's film session and walkthrough and his eye looked considerably less swollen when he spoke with reporters afterwards.
"I think everybody saw the pictures," Oladipo said of his injury. "I just couldn't open my eye, just couldn't see for a little bit…A few hours later, my eye calmed down and my vision started coming back.
"I'm feeling better, seeing better. We'll see how I feel for tomorrow. Hopefully everything is great and I can continue to help my team."
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One-eyed Oladipo did manage to help his team even after injury. Because the Pacers were in the bonus, the foul sent him to the free throw line. NBA rules dictate that in the event of an injury, the player who is fouled must shoot the free throws to remain eligible to return to the game.
After a timeout, Oladipo stepped up to the line and knocked down both free throws. Indiana then committed a foul to sub him out of the game. Unfortunately for the Pacers, his vision was not clear enough to allow him to return.
Oladipo's loss, coupled with foul trouble that limited starting guard Aaron Holiday to just over 16 minutes, left the Pacers especially depleted in the backcourt in Game 1. Already without former starter Jeremy Lamb, who is out for the season after tearing his ACL in February, Indiana turned to third-year guard Edmond Sumner.
Out of the rotation for much of the year, Sumner averaged just 14.4 minutes over 31 games in the regular season. But in Game 1, he logged over 27 minutes and started the second half.
Sumner acquitted himself well, tallying six points on 2-of-4 shooting and six rebounds, but the Pacers are hopeful to have their backcourt depth restored on Thursday for Game 2.
"It really did change up a lot for us when both guards who play a lot of minutes in your rotation are out with foul trouble and injury," Pacers head coach Nate McMillan said Wednesday. "It really took Aaron out of his game because he was in foul trouble and didn't really have an opportunity to play a lot of minutes and get into a rhythm.
"And then to lose Victor, now we have Ed Sumner playing major minutes and playing with a combination of guys that he hasn't played a lot of minutes with."
Offensively, the Pacers relied heavily on T.J. Warren (22 points, 4-of-5 from 3-point range) and Malcolm Brogdon (22 points and 10 assists) in Oladipo's absence. But Miami's defense posed problems for the Pacers.
The Heat frequently double-teamed Warren to get the ball out of his hands and switched nearly every ball screen. Miami has a slew of versatile defenders in Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Crowder, and Andre Iguodala, allowing them to switch even more than most NBA teams.
"When we see that type of defense, we've got to recognize where the matchup is and try to take advantage of the matchup, whether that's on the perimeter or in the post," McMillan said.
One area where the Pacers failed to capitalize is on the interior with center Myles Turner. The Heat typically guarded Turner with their center, Adebayo, but any switch put the 6-11 Turner on a smaller defender. Indiana was unable to exploit those mismatches for most of the night, as Turner finished with nine points on 4-of-11 shooting.
"We have to drop that (in the post) and we have to win that matchup if we take that matchup," McMillan said.
Down the stretch, Indiana's offense stalled out. The Pacers led 87-85 with under 10 minutes to play on Tuesday, but subsequently gave up a 16-6 run that allowed the Heat to surge ahead for good.
The Blue & Gold made just one field goal — a Turner dunk — during a crucial four-minute stretch in the fourth quarter.
The hope for Game 2 is if Oladipo is back on the court, the Pacers will have another option to turn to when the offense stalls, whether he's scoring himself or drawing the attention of the defense to create for others.
"Obviously you get a guy like Vic out there, he's going to attract a lot of attention," Sumner said.
"When he's out there, he's an obvious difference maker."
Despite his limited vision, Oladipo was able to watch most of Game 1 from the locker room and offered an optimistic viewpoint despite the outcome.
"I feel like we're right there," Oladipo said. "One or two, maybe even three more plays, better execution, getting a few more stops and I feel like we've got a great chance of winning this series."