OKC Thunder players dominate ‘in the news’ with Andre Roberson, Dennis Schroder and Terrance Ferguson taking center stage.
Welcome to the weekend Thunder Nation and the start of preseason game action. Closer to home ‘in the news’ spotlights a trio of OKC Thunder players. Stat master John Schuhmann serves up the surprising effect defensive specialist Andre Roberson has on the team’s offense. New comer Dennis Schroder makes a fresh start with a clean crisp look. And, player previews continue with a dive into sophomore Terrance Ferguson.
Roberson – the offensive effect:
Overrated, underrated. Whatever you think of polarizing shooting guard Andre Roberson’s skills, you’ve never thought of positively associating him with the OKC Thunder’s offense. Advanced NBA.com stats writer John Schuhmann gives us an intriguing article as to how the defensive juggernaut surprisingly makes OKC a better team on both ends of the floor.
Schuhmann points out the obvious defensive prowess of Roberson and the stunning effect he had on court pre and post injury. Specifically, OKC ranked fifth defensively, but plummeted to 15th without the injured ARob. Yet, the shocker here is the offensive challenged Roberson’s absence didn’t equate to an scoring explosion.
"Roberson is thought of as an offensive liability. In more than 1,000 minutes last season, he took just 39 shots from outside the restricted area and made just eight (21 percent) of the 39. (The season prior, he shot just 25 percent on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, the third worst mark among 200 players who attempted at least 100.)But the Thunder were only slightly better when the other four starters shared the floor with somebody else than they were when Roberson was the fifth guy on the floor, in part because they didn’t depend on half-court offense as much as most teams did, with Roberson finding ways to contribute."
The full article is a must-read that explains Andre Roberson’s undervalued contributions, and sheds light on the unique way the OKC Thunder play–and win–games.
A cut above the rest
Of course, super exciting to the Thunder’s offense this year is the addition of backup point guard Dennis Schroder. Looks like the German is ready to evolve into his reserve role with the Thunder starting with a new look! His recent media photo posted to Instagram showcases a cool sheared look.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoIaqzDFjUq/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
More from Thunder News
- Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
- Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
- 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
I will personally miss the trademark gold spot, but it is great to see the talented guard embracing a change with this move.
Also can’t deny it, he looks fresh. Take a look for yourself and scroll through the pictures! That said, the German did hint the familiar golden will eventually return at some juncture this season.
Terrance Ferguson seeks to prove haters wrong:
Finally, we have a player season preview on athletic young guard Terrance Ferguson, as he heads into his second year, written by yours truly. 2K Ferguson had a rather quiet year overall despite all the hype in his potential and a few poster dunks.
The full preview article analyzes how Ferguson will add value that maximizes his knowledge and skillset.
"In his first NBA season, Ferguson played in 61 games overall, averaging just 12.5 minutes, 3.1 points, and less than a single assist, rebound, steal, or block per game. This was underwhelming to say the least, coming from a once top-100 high school prospect (actual rank #11 on ESPN Top 100 Class of 2016) with professional experience playing with Australia’s Adelaide 36ers, and especially when measured against his peers from their talented draft class."
That’s all for in the news on Saturday, September 29. Enjoy your weekend and be sure to bookmark Thunderous Intentions as the writing team prep fans for the approaching 2018-19 season.