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OKC Thunder Better Suited to Face Leonard over Harden in Playoffs

By Gideon Lim

Nov 2, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets forward Montrezl Harrell (35) sets a pick for guard James Harden (13) against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Andre Roberson (21) the second quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 2, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets forward Montrezl Harrell (35) sets a pick for guard James Harden (13) against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Andre Roberson (21) the second quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 9, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) drives to the basket in front of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Andre Roberson (21) during the first quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

Doctor Dre in the House

So far, the generic picture of the series has been clear. Westbrook will have the harder individual match-up against the Spurs, but the Rockets threaten the collective line-up more. The tie breaker could very come down to one of the OKC Thunder most important players this year – Andre Roberson.

Roberson has rightfully started to gain some plaudits around the league for his work against offensive juggernauts like DeMar DeRozan and Carmelo Anthony. Likewise, he has done well against Leonard and Harden. However, because both employ such different techniques to getting buckets, Leonard is arguably the better assignment for Roberson.

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Other than catch-and-shoot threes, Leonard has made a living out of isolation plays this season. He has built a nifty bag of tricks to complement his pull-up game. More importantly, schematically speaking, last season’s playoffs exposed the Spurs and their reliance on Leonard to generate offense. Surprisingly, this trend seems to have been further entrenched again this year. With Leonard as the primary source of offense, the team has continued its egalitarian usage of the ball but it lacks a single focal point who can generate offense for others.

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This plays into Roberson’s strengths. Roberson is a dogged ball hound who chases opponents around screens, has good discipline against reaching in and follows the play even after getting beat. This means that as long as Donovan sticks Roberson on Leonard, the Spurs are going to lose a chunk of their offense.

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