Defensive position
Effort vs. Warriors shows defense doesn't stop at Roberson
The Thunder should be aiming to be one of the league’s top defenses, even without Andre Roberson.
LOS ANGELES — The news came and the Thunder’s world was supposed to end. Andre Roberson’s rehab setback meant a collective setback for OKC’s defense and chances at Western Conference contention.
You wouldn’t think that from the tenor of coach Billy Donovan and the Thunder after an opening night loss to Golden State.
“When you lose a really good player, you can’t sit there and say you’re going to be better,” Donovan said Wednesday at the Mo Ostin Basketball Center at UCLA. “That being said, we can still be an elite defense if we all continually put the work in and have an attention to detail.”
What good does it benefit a team to sulk about the loss of its defensive ace when it has the potential to still be among the league’s best defensive units? As the Thunder comes off an encouraging second half against Golden State, it should be aiming to be one of the league’s top defenses without Roberson.
Roberson clearly makes the Thunder an elite defensive team. Last season, Thunder allowed 104.7 points per 100 possessions before Roberson’s seasonending injury, fifth in the NBA. That dipped to 108.7 points per 100 possessions without him.
The margin for error is slimmer without the 201617 NBA All-Defensive Team player. There has to be less Steven Adams laid up on a treatment table on his side. The Thunder’s last line of defense labored through lower back soreness against the Warriors on Tuesday.
There has to be help for Paul George, who took some punishing screens against the Warriors and will take more matched up against team’s No. 1 scorer. Donovan wants to remedy some of George’s workload via defensive switches.
But when it clicked like in the second half Tuesday, it was apparent the Thunder can put defensive pressure on the best teams.
“We’re more than capable of being a top defensive team in the league with what we have at the time,” Thunder forward Jerami Grant said. “But we’re definitely looking forward to getting him back.”
In the meantime, the Thunder has to pay attention to the finer points. Roberson can only do so much from the bench, giving rookie Hamidou Diallo instruction against Klay Thompson, or holding a laptop film session with Alex Abrines and Terrance
Ferguson after practice Wednesday.
Abigmisseddetailagainst the Warriors was defensive rebounding. Donovan thought the Thunder had a good defensive game that could have been great had the Warriors not rebounded an extreme 41.5 percent of their missed shots.
Some of that is chalked up to Adams’ ailment. When healthy, he specializes in getting bodies on players on defensive rebound opportunities so Russell Westbrook and other players can get uncontested rebounds.
“We’ve just got to box out,” Grant said. “We had two contesting a lot and let the big run to the basket.”
In other aspects, the Thunder showed its capabilities. It limited Golden State to 26 3-point attempts with aggressive
defense to the perimeter. When beaten by the Warriors’ perpetual player movement, active hands can be the difference between a layup and a steal, and the Thunder put in max effort recovering in the halfcourt and getting back in transition. Twelve steals were the result.
Not all of the Warriors’ turnovers were a result of the Thunder’s quick hands and athleticism. But even when the Warriors didn’t turn it over, sound defensive principles — rookie Hamidou Diallo staying in front of a Thompson drive until the last second as Nerlens Noel slid over to block the shot — can set the Thunder up to be a top tier defense without its best defender.
“We have to be a great defensive team no matter who’s out there,” Patrick
Patterson said. We all have to live up to our principles. And we know that the absence of Andre forces us to step up another notch and fill that void.”