Andre Roberson and the Oklahoma City Thunder
While Andre Roberson is not the flashiest name on the Oklahoma City Thunder, he is one of the most important cogs in making them an elite defensive team.
He underwent surgery on his left knee this summer and is set to miss up to two months this season.
A 2016-17 All-Defensive Second Team selection, Roberson is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. When on the court, he helped dropped opponents’ offensive ratings to 99.2. Off the court, this rating jumped to 110.7. And although he is a poor offensive player, the Thunder’s own offensive rating only fell by 1.5 points when he was on the floor.
He was ultimately one of the Thunder’s most effective players last season. He will be missed at the beginning of this year.
Though he won’t miss too much of this season, he has been absent from the Thunder’s lineup since February. And as the team works to implement a new style without Carmelo Anthony, inserting Roberson could lead to some midseason growing pains and stall out some of OKC’s momentum this upcoming January.
The Thunder should have the talent to withstand this Roberson injury. But dropping a few games early may force them to compete for a spot rather than be another team that’s locked in early.