The Thunder defense is clearly not as good with Andre Roberson out. Here’s the Norman Transcript reporting on what’s been going on:
The Thunder have been allowing a bunch of 3-pointers all season, a reaction to personnel changes over the summer and to a 2016-17 defense which gave up a higher percentage of its field-goals allowed at the rim than any other team. The Thunder help more aggressively from the weak side now in an attempt to take away driving lanes. When the strategy isn’t executed well, it’s prone to allowing easier 3s.
The issues have become more exaggerated of late.
“I think it’s just player movement,” Paul George said. “That’s the element of defense that we’re struggling at, understanding guys are moving and causing us to move around.”
The Thunder have allowed 31.5 3-pointers per game over their past eight, up from their seasonal average. Even worse, opponents are making 12.9 of those a game, good for nearly 41 percent. The makes and the percentage are the NBA’s second-worst and fourth-worst figures, respectively, over that time.
