Is Andre Roberson Ready for the Restart?

After three scrimmages has Billy Donovan seen enough to put Andre Roberson in the Thunder rotation?

Andre Roberson is the feel-good hit of the Summer. The Thunder's defensive stopper returned from a two and half year absence to work his way into the starting lineup vs. Portland. 

Billy Donovan steadily increased Roberson's minutes throughout the three scrimmages. So what more does he need to see when it comes to putting him into the Thunder's rotation? 

Donovan says, "I don't know if I necessarily need to see more."... "I think what Andre and I would both agree to is  he needs to keep working on his conditioning."..."It's good, and it's gotten better, but It needs to even continue to get better." 

Donovan likes where Roberson is physically and thinks his experience and ability to guard different positions will only be a plus once the seeding games get underway. For Roberson to have a prolonged comeback, he will need to stay healthy. 

"He's held up well through these first three weeks, and that's been really encouraging and positive because there's been so many times over the last two years we feel like we've made some progress and some headway and we've had some setbacks."...."And I'm just praying and hoping that this continues on like he's doing right now because I think if it does there's no question he can be an important piece to our team, and he can help contribute."

We've been warned not to read too much into how the rotations are playing in the scrimmages. But, with Terrance Ferguson seeing limited minutes (out vs. Portland with a leg contusion) and the Thunder being gifted a former all-defensive player, it's easy to jump to the conclusion Roberson will play a role no matter how significant when the ball tips on Saturday. 

Andre Roberson checks in and everyone with the Thunder gives him a standing ovation.

— Royce Young (@royceyoung) July 24, 2020

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With more than 20 years of experience hosting local and national radio shows, Erik Gee is a fixture of Oklahoma sports media. He has covered the Oklahoma City Thunder for the past six seasons. He is also the co-host of the Pat Jones show on 97.1 The Sports Animal in Tulsa.