Andre Roberson may not have gotten much playing time in the Thunder’s 110-94 win over the Utah Jazz in their first game in Orlando, but on one sequence, he seemed to prove that his impact can be felt in a regular-season game.
Heading into the contest, Billy Donovan seemed to tip his hand and hint at the fact that Roberson may not play as many minutes as he did during the exhibition contests. In those games, Roberson averaged about 15 minutes. Although he proved effective, there were questions as to whether it would be enough for him to supplant other members of the rotation.
On Saturday, we found out that it was not.
Roberson ended the contest only having played five minutes. Darius Bazley (29 minutes) and Dennis Schroder (22 minutes) led the reserves in minutes played, while Roberson played just the final five minutes of the first half.
After checking in for Hamidou Diallo, though, Roberson immediately turned in one of his hallmark defensive sequences. Roberson scored a two-handed block on Jordan Clarkson’s driving layup before rebounding a three-point miss from Donovan Mitchell.
Roberson himself showed appreciation to SLAM Magazine for tweeting the play.
While it may seem somewhat silly to be overly excited about one defensive sequence, the play highlights Roberson’s activeness and the excitement with which he not only plays defense, but appreciates his being recognized for going after it.
There are many people rooting for him, including Billy Donovan. The five-minutes of playing time may suggest that the coach doesn’t trust Roberson to come through when the games actually count, but it may just as easily indicate a want to bring him along slowly.
Although the Thunder scored a decisive victory over the Jazz, Roberson’s plus-minus of plus-9 is impressive in just five minutes of play.
His first regular-season game back may not be one for the record books, but even in one short sequence, Roberson managed to make an obvious impact on the game.
In all likelihood, he will soon get more opportunities.
