Corey Brewer: the OKC Thunder’s Missing Piece

Can Corey Brewer fill the void left by Andre Roberson?

I have this memory from my childhood. This was before I knew what basketball was, before the OKC Thunder were even a twinkle in the eye of Clay Bennett, and definitely before I moved to Seattle and had to hide my Thunder fanhood in a closet.

It’s a memory of a castle – a castle made of Legos. This thing was the very coolest castle. It had four turrets mounted with twelve little, unnecessarily sharp flags. In it was a town, replete with little shops and little buildings and little criminals in little stocks. There was an honest-to-goodness moat, filled with honest-to-goodness alligators. Its walls were two blocks thick. It was formidable.

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I was working on the last wall when I realized I was one block short. And not just any block, the biggest, center block. It was a block on the second row of the wall, a block that nobody would think was important, but it was a block without which the wall would not stand. I had two choices:

1. Leave a large hole in the wall’s top, exposing my archers.
2. Substitute a smaller block into the position, and hope my enemies wouldn’t see.

I chose the second option.

How Corey Brewer fits

Nobody will ever be able to fill Andre Roberson‘s shoes on the defensive end. He is absolutely, unequivocally elite, and was probably the front-runner for Defensive Player of the Year before his knee exploded. So, what the Thunder need, and what they hope Brewer can provide, is adequate defense and adequate offense.

Here is an example of Brewer’s potential on defense. Keep in mind that he has only had a handful of practices with the team, and also try not to look at Russell Westbrook:

That’s pretty good from the new guy. While he doesn’t have to be Roberson, he just has to survive.

Here is another way Brewer can fill the role that Roberson left behind. Roberson had become a low-key excellent cutter, providing great movement and mitigating the damage from his shooting. Brewer is an excellent cutter:

Brewer will have to find other ways to add value. This is a play that Roberson would struggle to make:

Oh, and he hit a three-pointer on the previous possession.

The Thunder were hoping to fill the square hole left by Andre Roberson with a square peg. Tony Allen was never going to be that. Corey Brewer isn’t either. But maybe, just maybe, he can hold the wall up in his own way.

For Tony Heim’s wonderful recap of the Thunder’s victory over the Suns, click this link. Thanks for reading. This article was written with only the most Thunderous of Intentions.