There were plenty of things to feel good about for Billy Donovan’s team on Friday night.
The Thunder defeated the Boston Celtics by a final score of 98-84 in the first of the club’s three exhibition games in Orlando, and although the game doesn’t count in the standings, nobody ever argues with a victory.
After the contest, Andre Roberson was the talk of the match. The defensive stalwart played his first basketball game in over 900 days and looked pretty sharp in his 11 minutes of action.
If Roberson is able to reenter Donovan’s rotation as a reliable piece, it would go a long way toward helping the team figure out what it will to do fill the void left that will be left in Dennis Schroder’s departure, as the Sixth Man of the Year candidate has committed to heading home to be with his wife after she gives birth to the couple’s second child in the next few weeks.
Unfortunately for the Thunder, the club may be without Abdel Nader for the foreseeable future. Nader was forced out of the exhibition contest against the Celtics late in the fourth quarter after hitting his head on the court. At the time of his exit, Nader scored 11 points on 5-for-9 shooting in the field. He’d played just 12 minutes.
Abdel Nader had to check out of the game late in the fourth quarter after hitting his head on the court. Nader was playing well, 5-of-9 off the bench for 11 points.
— Erik Horne (@ErikkHorne) July 24, 2020
After the contest, when asked for an update on Nader, Donovan was only able to offer that he’d entered the concussion protocol.
In all likelihood, there will be an update on his status on Saturday, but there’s no telling how severe his injury might be. Like hamstrings, concussions are tricky injuries from which some are able to return quickly while others need more time to recover.