OKC Thunder: More disappointment in Andre Roberson injury saga
By Alex Mcewen
OKC Thunder guard Andre Roberson has missed all 78 games the club has played thus far. Billy Donovan revealed he would miss the final four contests as well.
It has been one year, two months, and ten days since Andre Roberson suited up and took the hardwood for the OKC Thunder. Ironically, the last game Dre played his squad was facing the Detroit Pistons; as the Thunder face the Pistons tonight head coach Billy Donovan revealed Roberson would indeed miss Oklahoma City’s final four contests.
It is a frustrating and disappointing end, to a season that never truly began for Roberson. Yes, he has his limitations, all players do. However, when he was healthy Roberson possessed the defensive ability that could rival any current NBA wing.
Roberson’s presence has, and will continue to be missed, as the Thunder approach the playoffs without their once top defensive starlet.
Sort of a foregone conclusion with the playoffs starting next week, but Billy Donovan essentially said Andre Roberson will not return this season (2018/19). Donovan said Roberson is running but not doing anything in practice.
— Erik Horne (@ErikkHorne) April 4, 2019
A Summary of Dre’s Injury
Roberson first sustained the initial injury on January 27, inside the Palace of Auburn Hills, the Pistons now defunct arena. The Thunder were rolling, leading 91-66, just over midway through the third quarter.
Coming out of a timeout, the play was a backdoor cut, an offensive set Roberson often excelled at executing. The Thunder had run the play a 1,000 times before, but like most catastrophic injuries, there was no rhyme or reason why it happened. Dre simply lost his footing as his knee gave out.
The severity was evident, his teammates gathered around him, center Steven Adams never left his side. Roberson became emotional as he was taken off the court on a stretcher. Highly understandable because it was clear his season was done. Oklahoma City, went on to win the contest for their fallen brother and teammate 121-108.
A diagnosis came the next day, revealing a ruptured left patellar tendon. According to VeryWellHealth.com for Roberson’s injury, the return to full sports activity is 4-6 months hence nobody initially fathomed Dre would miss the entire 2018-19 campaign.
Setback Number: One
In May 2018, Roberson underwent a second procedure to reduce excess swelling, caused by Synovitis in his surgically repaired left knee. According to Wikipedia, Synovitis is the medical term for inflammation of the synovial membrane.
"In some cases, the synovitis itself may be the cause of joint damage and be the main cause of joint pain and dysfunction."
The above information courtesy of HipFootAnkle.com
Setback Number: Two
When the Thunder opened training camp in September Roberson was still not cleared to resume full basketball activities, but he began doing more and more each week. On November 30, the Thunder organization provided the last official medical update on Dre, revealing he had suffered an Avulsion Fracture.
At the time, T.I. reported the news was somewhat encouraging because it meant the original injury was healing well. An Avulsion fracture occurs when a tendon is so strong, it literally breaks off a piece of bone, rather than re-rupture the tendon.
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When a significant player suffers an injury the NBA has an exception put in place, any team can apply for and are ultimately granted if the league’s doctors deem the player will not return during the current campaign.
It is titled a disabled player exception or DPE. For example, the Celtics received a DPE last season after key free agent Gordon Hayward fractured his leg, only minutes into the season opener.
What the exception does, is reimburse the Thunder the value of Roberson’s contract for that season and allow them to add another player up to the worth of Roberson’s 2018-19 salary.
Pouring salt in the wound, the Thunder missed the deadline to apply for a DPE by roughly one week when Roberson suffered the initial injury last January.
However, there is no rationalization why the OKC Thunder did not apply for a DPE this season. The deadline was in mid-January, by that point Dre’s return this season was questionable at best.
In conclusion, the Thunder will head into the playoffs and continue to compete without their defensive cornerstone.
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On behalf of myself and the entire team at T.I., we continue to wish Dre a speedy recovery, and we eagerly await his return to the hardwood next season! Until then, Roberson will remain close to the team and in street clothes on the Oklahoma City bench.