Box Scores Don’t Interest Thunder’s Andre Roberson

As offseason prognosticators looked at the Oklahoma City Thunder, one of the biggest storylines centered on who would take over the starting shooting guard position. With Thabo Sefolosha departing for the Atlanta Hawks during the summer, the two-guard position was up for grabs for the first time in years. Would coach Scott Brooks start Reggie Jackson to form a backcourt duo with point guard Russell Westbrook? Would traditional shooting guard Jeremy Lamb get the nod? What about newly-signed ace shooter Anthony Morrow? Multi-positional Perry Jones, perhaps? Wing defender Andre Roberson?

The answer was provided in the season opener as Roberson landed the starting job. It should not have been a huge surprise with Brooks’ documented preference to insert a defensive-minded player in that position. Like Sefolosha, Roberson is offensively limited with a nightly box score that belies his on-court performance.

In Roberson’s second year with the Thunder, he’s averaging 4.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and one steal in 24.2 minutes per game. With those averages one might wonder how the 23-year-old landed the coveted starting role, especially since he averaged just ten minutes in 40 regular-season games and only appeared in 17 NBA Developmental League games last season.

“I don’t look at the stat line,” Roberson told Basketball Insiders after the Thunder’s recent win against the Charlotte Hornets. “That doesn’t really total the game of basketball. There’s other aspects to the game than scoring, rebounding and things that don’t pop up on the stat sheet like bringing energy, coming out there with that greediness and bringing that spark to the team.

“There’s definitely other aspects to the game that people don’t really understand, but it’s there.”

The primary aspect he alludes to is consistent contributions on the defensive end. Roberson has proved to be a key part of the reason Oklahoma City is ranked fourth in defense and first in opponents’ points per game (95.5). Dig deep into Roberson’s personal advanced statistics and impressive numbers are revealed: According to NBA.com, the usual two-point field goal percentage of the player Roberson defends is 48.0 percent and the usual three-point percentage is 36.7 percent. Against Roberson in games this year, those percentages drop to 38.1 percent and 20.8 percent, respectively. He’s league-ranked sixth in Defensive Box Plus/Minus and leads his team in the category as well, plus he’s tied with Westbrook and the Los Angeles Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan in defensive rating.

“It’s not necessarily going to show up all the time with that type of player,” Jackson said. “He plays the best way each and every night. He takes on the challenge. He likes to try and get under your skin. He’s a physical defender. Not necessarily going to fill up the box score with points all the time, may not always get the rebound, but he can deflect some. Let our bigs get the rebounds and other guards get rebounds because of their activity.

“He’s somebody that everybody’s always watching. He does a great job of getting us second possessions, offensively, defensively, rebounding. Even the times he’s hitting loose balls, other people are getting the steals, so he’s not always going to fill up the stat sheet. We don’t necessarily rely on him to score up with double digits every night. He’s been improving with his shot. He does a lot, a lot of intangible things that you don’t necessarily get noticed for.

“Most fans don’t notice because they’re looking at the stat sheet versus watching the game and understanding the type of affect he has on the game.”

One of the highest compliments a basketball player can be given is that they make their teammates better. However, this is often said with just the offensive side of the floor in mind. Defensively, though, it is possible to make your teammates better as well and Roberson is quickly becoming one of the few who does so.

“He’s a great glue guy,” Morrow said. “Even better kid off the court. Just a great person. Actually, the last few weeks, I’ve brought him to shoot with me after practice just to give him little tips on the jump shot, and it’s really been paying off for him. But defensively, I take more from him, watching him in that first unit. He’s so physical, a lot of energy. He has a great motor. I think that he has really a bright upside in this league.”

Roberson, 6’7, played three years at Colorado, averaging 9.6 points and 10.0 rebounds, before being selected with the 26th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was later acquired by the Thunder on draft night. Roberson was a second-round projected pick, but his calling card was pure hustle, boundless energy and strong work ethic got him noticed.

At Colorado, he made a name for himself as a top defender becoming the second-leading rebounder in the NCAA during his junior year (11.2 rpg) and winning the 2013 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year award and first-team all-conference honors.

Coach Brooks is always eager to point out how well the humble and quiet Roberson fits on this defense-first Thunder team.

“There’s a lot of guys – Nick Collison, Kendrick Perkins and ‘Dre – those guys, they have all the ingredients that make you a winning basketball team, because they do all the things that is necessary night in and night out. Everybody can’t score points. That’s not their role. (Roberson’s) role is to give the defensive effort every possession and he does that.

“As his game continues to evolve offensively, he’s going to continue to help us in that area,” continued Brooks. ” He’s going to be a very good basketball player. He’s another young developing player that we have. I like his energy. The guys love playing alongside of him because he gives effort. He doesn’t say one word; he just competes and those are winning ingredients.”

Due to an unimaginable amount of injuries the Thunder has faced this season – superstar Kevin Durant has appeared in only nine games with no confirmed return date from his latest injury – Roberson has been given a chance to take on more responsibilities and showcase his skills. As defensively talented as he is, he undoubtedly has room, as well as opportunity, to improve on the offensive side of the ball. Now it’s up to him to become that two-way player the Thunder needs at the shooting guard position.