‘No one’s going against Billy’: Anthony, George reaffirm faith in Donovan
There’s a high level of respect for his position and what he’s wanting from us. There’s no line of disrespect at all toward what Coach wants us to do.”
Roberson questionable against Indy
Andre Roberson, who missed the Thunder’s loss to Charlotte on Monday, is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game against Indiana.
Roberson sprained his left ankle in the Thunder’s 102101 overtime win against Memphis on Saturday. He participated in post-practice shooting drills on Tuesday, but did so without making sharp cuts. Roberson mostly took set shots and jogged around with black elastic sports tape stretching up his inner left ankle.
Donovan said Roberson will be re-evaluated Wednesday in Indianapolis. In Roberson’s absence, the Thunder allowed the Hornets to shoot 13-of-25 from 3-point range and post their fourth-best offensive performance of the season. Charlotte scored 118.9 points per 100 possessions.
The Thunder is giving up 95.6 points per 100 possessions with Roberson in the game this season, fourth best in the NBA among qualified players, and 106.8 when he’s not playing.
Thunder gets second look at transformed Oladipo
Victor Oladipo is playing the best basketball of his career ... for Indiana, which is 16-10 after most thought the Pacers were the losers in the June 30 trade that brought George to Oklahoma City. The Thunder faces Oladipo and Co. Wednesday in Indianapolis.
Oladipo is 10th in the NBA in scoring (24.5 points per game) and is posting better offensive efficiency numbers (48.5 field goal percentage, 44.4 3-point percentage) than George. Oladipo is third in the NBA in 3-point percentage among players who take six or more a game. George is seventh at 40.9 percent.
Part of Oladipo’s surge is more touches. His usage rate (percentage of plays that end with a fieldgoal attempt, free throw attempt or turnover) is at a career-high 30.9, greater than his highest usage rate in Orlando (25.2), and last season’s 21.9 in OKC. This season, Oladipo’s usage is creeping to Westbrook usage levels (33.9), is getting nearly five more shots a game and has doubled his free throws per game from 2.3 to 5.4.
Before Oladipo was part of the deal that sent him and Domantas Sabonis to Indiana, he was in the process of getting into the best shape of his professional career.
“The playoffs kind of left a sour taste in my mouth,” Oladipo told The Oklahoman after the NBA Awards in New York City on June 28. “A sour taste, period. I’m doing what I can to change that.”
Donovan saw what he said was “a different focus, a different mindset” from Oladipo when he met him at the end of May and early June. Donovan wanted Oladipo to stay in Oklahoma City the majority of the summer, but the 25-yearold already had plans to train three times a day in Miami.
Yoga. Boxing. A personal chef. A season watching Westbrook’s training habits. A new team with more touches. Oladipo has gathered it all and is on the cusp of an All-Star bid.
Could Oladipo have accomplished it in Oklahoma City? Should he have?
“Going into the summer, the things that he was doing and that we talked about him doing and what we needed him to do, he was doing,” Donovan said Tuesday. “He was committed to those things and he did a really good job. So, I think you probably would’ve seen a drastic improvement from Victor if he was still here just based on what he has done.”