He might be hundreds of miles away from Oklahoma City, but even from Orlando, Andre Roberson has managed to dominate the news cycle for the Thunder.
In his first action since rupturing his patellar tendon in January 2018, Roberson turned in two incredible efforts, including connecting on two huge three-point shots that went a long way toward clinching a victory for the Thunder in their second Orlando exhibition game on Sunday.
On Monday — on the eve of the Thunder’s third and final exhibition contest — head coach Billy Donovan was asked to provide his perspective on Roberson’s performances thus far and to discuss what, if any role he will find for the defensive stalwart once the games count.
The coach left no doubt as to whether he believed in Roberson’s abilities to be impactful in the team’s seeding games.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in him just because, before the injury took place, he was a starter for us and played really, really meaningful minutes and meaningful games,” Donovan said.
“So we just want to keep him progressing and getting more and more comfortable out there playing. He’s really played exceptionally well on both ends of the floor. I’m really personally very happy for him, as many people are because it’s been such a long road back to get to this point, so we just wanna really keep the momentum going with him.”
In today’s NBA, positional versatility continues to be important, and on both ends of the floor. Today, we routinely see floor-stretching big men and, in the case of Roberson, rangy wing players who can guard multiple positions. It’s Roberson’s existence as the latter that will likely continue to provide value for a team hoping to make a deep playoff run.
“It’s not necessarily even for me defining a role for him right now because I feel he can do anything,” Donovan said.
“He can play the power forward, he can play the two-guard spot, he can guard multiple different people. So however we need to utilize him, I feel pretty confident that he’s going to be able to provide a role for us in whatever’s best for the team.”
Judging by what Roberson has produced thus far in the minutes he’s been given, it stands to reason that he can continue to be an asset.
Already, it seems he has regained the confidence of his head coach.