According to NewsOK, Andre Roberson will miss at least three weeks with a knee sprain. The sprain occurred this Sunday, during the second quarter of the Thunder-Nets game. Here's video of the injury, showing a particularly nasty bump with Russell Westbrook:
Roberson did not return to the game. Here's further details on the injury, from NewsOK:
Following the hit, Roberson limped to the bench and eventually the locker room, not returning. He was seen postgame without crutches, but walking with a heavy limp. Roberson spent Monday's practice icing his knee off to the side.
An MRI on Monday confirmed the sprain, but didn't reveal any structural damage that required surgery, a positive development considering the nature of the play.
No official replacement has been named in the starting lineup. Coach Donovan went with Singler to start the second half of the Thunder-Nets game, but finished the game with Dion Waiters at shooting guard. Both Singler and Waiters seem like viable options at this point. I'd lean more heavily towards Dion because of how well he plays with KD and Westbrook.
Anthony Morrow will likely see some minutes on the bench, but it's hard to see him grasping onto a major role. Coach Donovan held Morrow out of four straight contests, before letting Morrow play 5 minutes in the Nets game due to injury. It's true that Morrow started when KD went out early in the season, but he remains a long shot for the starting job at this point. Cameron Payne could see additional minutes in Roberson's absence as well. Payne doesn't work perfectly as a shooting guard, but the Thunder can certainly get away with it in certain situations.
This injury hurts the Thunder defensively and on the boards. In the coming weeks, OKC may have trouble guarding threes and limiting second chance opportunities for the other team.
Steven Adams is also injured at the moment, having missed two games with a right elbow sprain. Adams went through a partial practice on Monday, and is questionable for Tuesday's game at the New York Knicks.
Who do you think should start? Drop a comment and let us know!
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