The lost season: What’s next for OKC Thunder defensive master Andre Roberson?
By Alex Mcewen
The Dame and Spider Show
The OKC Thunder have suffered three consecutive first-round exits, the three constants in Oklahoma City’s equation are Russell Westbrook, Billy Donovan, and Sam Presti. With that said, the first early exit was the inaugural season sans Kevin Durant, therefore one early exit is forgivable.
However, another constant of the last two quarter finals eliminations is the absence of Roberson. The clips below highlight where the defensive starlet has been missed most in Oklahoma City’s playoff quest.
Spider Mitchell’s coming out party
Donovan Mitchell had a coming out party for himself in the 2018 quarter finals versus the Thunder. He scored the ball well in all six games, posting no fewer than at least 22 points in each contest, but his best match was the eliminating Game 6.
Mitchell was stellar in Game 6, particularly in the third period. Spider Mitchell opened the third frame, going 8-8 from the floor, before finally missing his final two field goal attempts, scoring 22 of his 37 points in the quarter.
Taking into account Roberson limited Mitchell to 28 points in 78 possessions during the 2017-18 regular season, it’s safe to assume Dre’s defense would have impacted the game situation.
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Dame Dolla Shines
The situation with Damian Lillard in this seasons opening round was unique. Lillard was driven to erase the memory of back-to-back quarter finals exits. And, motivation from Westbrook who proclaimed he was not an All-Star in 2018.
Couple that with the fact, OKC did not possess a capable defender to slow Lillard down with Dre sidelined and Paul George hobbled. The Thunder were playing from behind before the series even began.
Among his 115 field goal attempts, only 14 were non-paint two’s. Roberson does a phenomenal job of forcing a player out of their spots, the Thunder did not accomplish that at all with Dame, hence Dre’s impact on the series could have been vast.