OKC Thunder: The Andre Roberson or Terrance Ferguson debate
By Brayden Koch
As the playoffs approach, the OKC Thunder have yet to be given a timetable for Andre Roberson’s return, but is OKC better off with Terrance Ferguson?
Since Andre Roberson went down last year with a nasty injury, the OKC Thunder have looked to Terrance Ferguson to fulfill the starting shooting guard role. While his contributions have been up and down, he has proven his worth this year, as a “Three and D” player. This presents the question; when Roberson returns, who deserves to be in the starting lineup?
In Andre Roberson’s five NBA seasons, he has cemented himself as one of the elite defenders in the league. Roberson entered the association in 2013 as an “all around rebounder, willing to sacrifice his body for boards” according to NBADraft.net. In 2014, Andre became the Thunder’s official starting shooting guard, thus showing his true shooting woes. While he was fairly good at driving the lane, Roberson was just never able to find his shooting touch from three or the free-throw line.
In 209 career games, Andre has averaged 25.7 percent from deep and 46.7 percent from the charity stripe.
Defensive Prowess
Despite these struggles, OKC wasn’t worried, as Roberson was an absolute force to be reckoned with on the defensive end. With the ability to guard the one through four, he has taken on the role of guarding the elite scorers on opposing teams. Andre’s worth was made especially prevalent in the 2016 NBA season, as he averaged 1.2 steals, 1 block, and 5.1 rebounds as a starter.
Since his injury, the OKC Thunder has relied on Terrance Ferguson to fill in the shoes of Roberson as the starting shooting guard. After a rocky start, Ferguson has finally found his role with the team as a three-point shooter and a satisfactory defender. Despite the slow start, Ferguson his now averaging 6.6 points on 43 percent shooting and 36.6 percent from three. But are these numbers good enough to keep the starting spot over Andre Roberson?
The Verdict
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Coming off of an injury, nobody knows how Roberson’s production will be once he returns. Especially since he relies on his defensive instincts, he may have a difficult time upholding his “elite defender” title. Ferguson has been able to fill the void quite well in his absence, averaging a similar stat line with fairly better shooting numbers. Only in his second year, I think TFerg’s ceiling is much higher than Roberson’s.
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With this being said, I’m expecting Terrance Ferguson to withhold the starting spot with Andre Roberson coming off the bench as a reliable backup.