With NBA stars surrounding him, it would be easy to minimize Andre Roberson’s contribution to OKC’s success. That would be a mistake.
With off-season acquisitions of Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, the Oklahoma City Thunder was expected to be a dominant offensive team this year. But OKC is also making a name for itself defensively. OKC ranks first in the NBA in terms of Opponent Turnover Percentage (16.2) and it ranks 4th by way of limiting opponents to under 100 ppg.
Andre Roberson–a name that NBA fans don’t hear that often–is contributing significantly, too. The Thunder re-signed Roberson in the off-season for three more years and this season might be his best.
Roberson is leading the league in defensive rating among players averaging 25 minutes or more, and he ranks 9th in defensive plus/minus (2.9).
Billy Donovan, a great defensive coach, has his team hitting on all cylinders. “I always believe defense is played with five players,” Donovan said during a press interview.
Roberson’s value includes helping OKC close out games against teams with talented wings. “Dre’s just amazing. I don’t even have to get into coverage most of the time, which is great,” teammate Stephen Adams explained. “It’s easy on the weak side help. No one has to rotate, or whatever. When that happens, when they blow up screens, everyone is like ‘yes … good’ because we don’t have to rotate and do that scrambling stuff because that’s when it gets dangerous.”
Courtesy: ETA
After a recent win against the Jazz, George chimed in about Roberson’s contributions: “Andre does a lot of stuff that doesn’t show up in the stat sheet, He’s a guy that makes winning plays. He does the little things that help us win, He’s effective for us on the floor.”
There is a deficiency in Roberson’s game, though. It’s shooting the ball. But that limitation isn’t affecting his playing time–at least for now. Defensive intensity keeps him on the floor.
Physical toughness adds to his value, too. On Tuesday, Roberson was wearing a sleeve around his left ring finger–a finger that he dislocated in the Christmas Day win over the Rockets. The injury occurred when he tried to strip the ball on a Houston drive.
Roberson joked about it. “Nah, it just jammed on the ball. I hit all ball, he held onto it pretty strong, and caused my finger to mess up.”
It’s just one more reason why Roberson keeps the Thunder rumbling forward.
______
Stats as of Dec. 27, 2017. Sources: MSN Sports, Basketball-Reference.com, OKCThunder.com, Nick Gallo (OKC Courtside Reporter)
