Thunderous Thoughts: The MVP debate

Welcome to Thunderous Thoughts, your weekly look at the OKC Thunder. It’s a new day, but the same insight.

Prior to the season, much was made about the OK3. Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony garnered all the attention and headlines as everyone wondered how they would fit and whether it would be enough to compete for a title. Three All-Stars. Two scoring champions. One MVP.

Thing is, you need five players to complete an NBA lineup.

Steven Adams and Andre Roberson were the forgotten members of the Thunder starting five. Roberson was looked at as a lock down defender, but an offensive liability. Adams was an under-the-radar center with a limited skillset in today’s NBA.

Yet, arguably these two are the most important players on Oklahoma City.

Tony Heim likes to call Roberson the “lowkey MVP.” Many have elevated Adams over Anthony as part of the OK3. But, who is more important to the success of the Thunder?

The Case for Andre Roberson

When Roberson is on the court, the Thunder have an offensive rating of 107.8. That number jumps up slightly to 109.9 when he sits. Opponents have an offensive rating of 98.9 with Roberson on the court and 110.6 when he sits.

That not only speaks volumes about his defense, but shows that he’s not as useless on offense as many think. Billy Donovan has learned how to effectively use Roberson as a screener and slasher. This is also a credit to Roberson, who has a high offensive-IQ and knows when to cut to the basket.

If teams don’t pay attention to Roberson in the corner, he sneaks backdoor for an easy layup. He doesn’t settle for the shot when he gets the ball on the perimeter anymore. Instead, he attacks and either tries to get to the basket or kicks it out if the defense collapses. It doesn’t always look pretty, but it’s better than an ugly three-point attempt.

He makes life for George, Anthony, and Westbrook easier with his on and off ball screens. The Thunder rarely use him as the roll man on pick-and-rolls, but when they have, it’s produced strong results. Off-ball, he’s strong enough to wipe out opting defenders, freeing up George and Anthony for more catch-and-shoot opportunities.

Defensively, you know what he brings to the table. His ability to fight through screens and stay attached to defenders is second to maybe only Kawhi Leonard. With him out of the lineup, teams were able to freeze out George and force Terrance Ferguson or Anthony to defend in space.

There was a reason why the Oklahoma City defense went down the toilet during Roberson’s recent absence and why their offense had to work harder and settle more.

The Case for Steven Adams

Adams leads the league in offensive rebounds with over five per game. He has more offensive rebounds than defensive rebounds this season, although that’s largely due to the teams defensive rebounding scheme.

The Thunder are second in the league in second chance points largely due to Adams’ offensive rebounding.

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While Andre Roberson is an effective screener, Adams is one of the best in the league. He is fourth in the league in screen assists.

The Thunder have a 111.4 offensive rating with him on the court and a 105.6 rating with him off the court. He’s known as a defensive center, but his defensive impact might be overstated. Opponents have a 106.6 offensive rating with Adams on and a 104.2 rating with him off. That number might be slightly misleading as Adams is always out there against starting lineups and generally better players.

Like Roberson, Steven Adams does a lot of the little things well. His ability to box out players under the basket, freeing up Westbrook on drives, doesn’t show up in the box score. Nor does the amount of screens he sets on a per game basis.

Who Is The Low-key MVP?

As important as Steven Adams is to the makeup of this team, Roberson’s defensive impact and offensive improvements make him the low-key MVP. Tony Heim is right. Don’t tell him I said that.