On Wednesday, head coach Billy Donovan said everyone is available for the scrimmages before the season starts.
“Right now we anticipate everybody being available to play,” he said. “How those minutes get rolled out, what we do having three of these kind of preseason games before we start Aug. 1, we’ll evaluate that, but we plan to have an entire roster.”
That means center Nerlens Noel, who has been limited with what was described as a minor ankle injury, will be active to play backup big man minutes behind Steven Adams.
Does that also mean wing Andre Roberson will get playing time?
Roberson has not seen game action in two and a half years due to a ruptured patellar tendon in his left knee, but he has practiced in full while in the bubble with the team.
Teammates have spoken highly of his defense over the past couple weeks, and while it’s unrealistic to expect him to play and move his body at the same level he was in January 2018, from the sound of it, Roberson is making an impact.
He still needs to find his fit in the system, particularly on offense, where the Chris Paul-led team plays with a much different style that the Russell Westbrook team Roberson was with last time he played.
While Donovan said everyone is available, he said the coaching staff had not finalized the minute spread as of Wednesday afternoon.
But the fact that everyone is available two days before the scrimmage is a good sign, particularly for Roberson and those excited to see him get back on the court.
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