Donovan wants to build more Anthony-George ballhandling
Thunder coach Billy Donovan said it’s by design — starting the offense through Paul George and Carmelo Anthony rather than Russell Westbrook.
Westbrook, No. 2 in the league in usage percentage (35.1) — a measure of plays which end with a shot attempt, free throw attempt or turnover by one player — hasn’t been off the ball as much as anticipated in the arrival of George and Anthony. But for a handful of plays Saturday in the second half against Charlotte, Anthony and George brought the ball up and initiated the offense with Westbrook on the floor.
The results were middling. Twice, Anthony was able to utilize screens to step into wide-open 15-foot jump shots because Hornets center Dwight Howard was dropping back in pick-androll coverage. A couple more times, Anthony and George missed midrange shots.
“We have to keep building on that,” Donovan said. “For our team, I think that’s something that’s important and they’re trying to utilize and maximize their flexibility.”
Besides Raymond Felton, no one on the Thunder is scoring more efficiently as the ballhandler in the pickand-roll than Anthony. Felton leads the team with 0.91 points per possession as the pick-and-roll ballhandler, but Anthony is second at 0.88 points per possession, per nba.com/stats.
It’s more impressive considering Anthony has had far fewer possessions (86) as the pick-and-roll ballhandler than Westbrook (406), George (205) and Felton (159).
More importantly, it’s another avenue to offense other than the straight-ahead Westbrook pick-and-roll. “Because of their multitude of skills that they have, you can utilize them and put them in different spots and areas of the floor,” Donovan said.
It’s also another way to get Anthony and George — players used to having the offense run through them — more touches.
“That’s really what you want to do, to have everyone engaged offensively even though at the end of the possession only one person is going to shoot it,” Donovan said. “Carmelo has good vision, Paul has good vision, those guys can pass, even doing some things with Steven (Adams) as well where they’re all trying to feel a part of the offense.”
Roberson out vs. Kings
Andre Roberson will miss his eighth consecutive game Monday against Sacramento with left knee tendinitis.
Roberson hasn’t played since the Thunder’s 97-95 loss to Milwaukee on Dec. 29. The Thunder is 3-4 in Roberson’s absence, snapping a three-game losing streak on Saturday with a 101-91 win in Charlotte.
Roberson will be reevaluated after Monday’s game.
“We didn’t have a lot of contact in practice, but he went through the entire practice, so he’s getting better,” Donovan said Sunday.
Terrance Ferguson is in line to start for the seventh consecutive game in Roberson’s place. Since scoring 35 points in road wins against the Lakers and Clippers, Ferguson has scored just eight points on 3-of-17 shooting in his last four games.
Felton: ‘Special’ to play on MLK Day
The Thunder has been a premier TV team this season, appearing on both Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
OKC is one of 22 teams to play on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, in honor of the late civil rights leader.
“To be able to play on such a special day, you definitely try to get a chance to get a win on that day, especially against a team that we owe a lot to coming up tomorrow,” Felton said of playing the Kings on Monday. The Thunder lost to the Kings 96-84 in November. “It’s always special to play on holidays, and it’s definitely special to play on MLK Day.
“Everybody is not fortunate to play on those days. We’ve been blessed this year to play on pretty much every holiday.”