Benefit of healthy Andre Roberson to rebuilding OKC Thunder is invaluable

The shooting dilemma:

Duh.

I’m pretty sure everyone saw this coming, but Roberson’s shooting definitely needs MAJOR work.

Roberson’s shot chart from his last healthy season shows that he (obviously) hardly ever shoots outside of the paint.

Over his career, Roberson shoots 64 percent of his shots from two and 58 percent of his shots are from zero to three feet.

While Roberson shoot’s a high percentage from that range (66 percent in his career), including backdoor alley-oops like these; his outside shooting leaves a lot to be desired.

Plenty of people remember the infamous “Hack a Roberson” from the 2017 playoff vs the Houston Rockets.

Roberson was an essential presence on the court due to his ability to defend James Harden, but the Rockets decided to intentionally foul him and make him shoot free throws where he went 3 for 21 in the series.

Not even Shaq shot that bad from the line. Roberson’s confidence from the line seemingly depreciated and was on pace to be the worst free throw shooter in NBA history before his injury. Roberson’s offensive style resembles that of a power forward but even Dennis Rodman shot better.

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I know that it’s not realistic to expect players to suddenly become good shooters from offseason work. I’m sure Russell Westbrook and Ben Simmons constantly work on their shot in the offseason but *currently* the results arent showing up on the court.

While Roberson’s 3-point percentage (35.4 percent in the playoffs) has shown occasional flashes, he’s essentially a lost cause to me at this point from the free-throw line.

However, if Dre is healthy he can contribute to offense in other ways. He’s an elite cutter and moves a lot on offense and is additionally a solid offensive rebounder (2.0 per 36 mins).

If Roberson comes back healthy and looks like his old self, he has the chance to be a valuable contributor to the OKC Thunder this season. If he still has the defensive chops he’ll be an intriguing trade asset for a title contender (Rockets and Clippers come to mind) looking for an additional wing with the ability to lock down the top tier talent in the NBA.

One thing is certain for myself, Thunder Nation, and NBA fans who respect and appreciate top tier defenders we’ll just be happy to see him back on the hardwood!