Andre Roberson caught a pass in the corner. He stopped and tried a 3.
Nothing but network. On the bench, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Chris Paul stood up and celebrated excitedly.
It was Roberson’s first triple in two and a half years. It was his first time on the court since an injury in January 2018.
That game, a 98-84 win over the Boston Celtics in a game on Friday, was the first time Paul was able to celebrate Roberson’s success as a teammate.
“When I was first traded to OKC, I went to exercise and hoop with the team, and Dre, it was the first day on the court trying to play, and he had a setback,” said Paul.
“He used to play against Dre year after year, and I had the opportunity to see him through all this process and the hard work he did. It was an incredible feeling for us, to see one of our brothers, to know what he has been through mentally. I don’t know man, it’s crazy to see it. “
Roberson played 11 minutes, scoring five points on three shots. He had a block and a steal to go with a couple of rebounds.
Head coach Billy Donovan said that not only was it great to see him on the court, but Roberson played well as well.
“I think you were able to see what made him a great defensive player,” said Donovan. “The things he does, how smart he is and his ability with his feet and his length. He really played very, very well and I give him a lot of credit for a guy who’s been away for as long as he is. “
Roberson played bigger than a boy of his size, taking time in front power and in the center position against the Boston Celtics.
He said his body felt good against even these bigger players – his only problem was that his new shoes slipped a little on the court.
“I received a lot of reps in (the) 4, 2 to 4 in practice, our offense is where we can be more interchangeable and today they threw me a little bit at 5, which took me by surprise.” Roberson said.
“It was great to be back out there, no matter what position I was in, to be out there fighting with my boys.”
His boys, despite the fact that they are an almost completely different team since the last time they came out onto the court for the action of the game.
“I think the circumstances that took place gave him this opportunity, so watching him play this game that we know he loves was special to everyone on our team,” said Paul.
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