How the Rockets got Roberson off the floor
The free throw dropped through the hoop, and Lisa Roberson pumped her fist wildly in the air.
When the next one did the same, so did she.
But moments later as Andre Roberson again walked to the free-throw line, his mother took a deep breath and exhaled. She sat a few rows behind the Thunder bench, hoping for the best.
Everyone else inside The Peake did the same.
On an afternoon Roberson had his best defensive performance of the series, he had his worst moments. The Rockets decided to intentionally foul him with the game tight late, and it did not go well for Roberson, who hit less than half of his free throw attempts during the regular season. He went to the free-throw line eight times in less than a minute in the fourth quarter, and he made only two.
The way Game 4 ended, you can’t say those misses lost the game for Oklahoma City, but they sure didn’t help.
Rockets 113, Thunder 109.
Asked about the intentional fouls and the free throws after the game, Roberson seemed more sad than angry.
“Yeah, no comment,” he said. “Next question.”
What was he thinking in those moments at the line? “Next question.” (That seems to have become a popular phrase in Thunderville these days.)
You can understand why Roberson would be torn up about those free throws. This has been a series of brilliance for him, not only defensively but also somewhat surprisingly offensively. He has been in double figures every game, including 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting in Game 4.
But the numbers people will long remember are 2 of 12, Roberson’s free throw numbers Sunday.
“He’s thinking too much,” Roberson’s father, John, said of his freethrow shooting woes. “When Dre’s at his best is when he’s playing instinct basketball because his instincts are incredible. Hands. Feet. All that stuff. But when he starts thinking, that’s the problem. That’s the mental part.
“Once we get that taken care of, I think we’re gonna be OK.”
Was the elder Roberson planning to hug his son’s neck or kick his backside or something in between?
“I think this time I’m gonna have to go back and go old school and do what I did when we were in AAU,” he said. What does that mean? “I can’t get into that,” he said.
At this point, the Thunder is probably willing to let anyone try anything to fix what ails Andre Roberson’s free throw shooting. It was bad all season, but now, it has gotten bad enough to put him on the bench in crunch time and sully a masterful performance in these playoffs.
His defense on James Harden, splendid all series, was never better than Sunday. Harden managed only 16 points on 16 shots. He had more turnovers (seven) than made field goals (five), and while Harden said after the game that a twisted ankle suffered in Game 3 affected his explosiveness, nothing affected him more than Roberson.
“You’re not going to stop anybody in the NBA,” Roberson’s dad said, “but he does a very good job at frustrating (Harden) and getting him out of his rhythm.”
What Roberson has done against Harden made watching all those missed free throws even more difficult to stomach.
“It’s irritating,” his dad said. “Because I know he’s a lot better free-throw shooter than what he’s exhibiting right now.”
His teammates say the same.
Alex Abrines, for one, said he sees Roberson shooting free throws for 20 or 30 minutes after practice pretty much every day.
“I know he’s more than capable,” the Thunder guard said.
But that doesn’t put the ball in the basket. Roberson still has to make the shots, and when he didn’t, he forced Billy Donovan’s hand. The Thunder coach struggled with whether to take Roberson out because of how splendidly he was defending Harden.
“I thought it was important as the coach to show confidence in him,” Donovan said.
But eventually, Donovan had no choice. Even though the Rockets only gained two points on the scoreboard from when they started hacking Roberson, the Thunder’s rhythm was thrown off. Possessions were wasted.
Donovan replaced Roberson with Jerami Grant, and for the first time this series, Harden was on the floor for more than a minute when Roberson wasn’t.
The Rockets used Roberson’s biggest weakness to force him off the floor, despite his greatest strength. It was trouble for the Thunder on Sunday and could be more of the same moving forward.