December 29, 2020.
Eleven NBA minutes associated with his name after three appearances in the Thunder jersey for five months after a plantar fascia injury at the end of the season – Isaiah Roby Stood facing each other Nikola Vucevic At the center court.
He made a strong first impression.
If there is no starting center Al HorfordThe 22-year-old Robbie stood on his toes with Vucevic-led Orlando Magic and set fire under Thunder’s attack. By the end of the game, the 6’8 forward played in several sizes and ended the night with 19 points and 7 rebounds with a 9-of-12 shoot clip.
Since then, Mark DignoRotation was set – and Isaiah Roby was included in the mix.
34 games, that’s the number of starts Robbie made last season. That year, Daigno did not hesitate to shoot a young gun. Combining this with Horford, he called for the end of the season in February. Dixon natives played a central role.
On this occasion, he averaged 8.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 23.4 minutes.
Based on the forward’s second year numbers, the former training camp darling entered the season by returning to the table and starting his aspirations. Now, the 24-year-old has moved away from normal shifts and a new can of worms has been opened during the rebuilding of Bricktown.
2021 NBA draft. Thunder GM after a regular season campaign that saw Thunder Thailand for the fourth worst record in the league Sam presti It was expected to utilize his first round selection trio to move the draft board up – and net the big guy.Instead, Presti chose two guards and pulled the reverse card. Josh Giddey When Tre Mann Central while trading No.16 picks Alperen Shenggun, For future draft capital. On the surface, the spots in the lobby in rotation looked safe.
Then the second round of action began.
Presti had his man immediately with the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Mark Tatum On the podium, the asking price wasn’t an issue. One pick to the second round, Presti’s sixth sensation began, and Orlando Magic seemed to be interested in their guys. In a bang-bang transaction, Thunder shipped two high-caliber seconds, picks No. 34 and 36, to the New York Knicks in exchange for pick No. 32. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl..
Oklahoma City Thunder traded up to select Jeremiah Robinson Earl in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Nick Wosika / USA Today
A feeling-out process took place on the front court to start the regular season. Earlier this year, Thunder didn’t have five starting members. Instead, they shuffled the deck between Robbie Robinson-Earl, Derrick FavorsWhen Mike Muscala.. But in seven games of the season, Daigno leaned the cap in the direction of Robinson Earl-and he didn’t look back-starting with 36 of his last 40 games.
This decision brought serious benefits to 20-year-old Robinson Earl. In a game patch for Villanova products, he raised five average 7.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.0 assists with the potential for shooting from a depth of 33.3%. In addition, he has participated in several hardware mixes and was nominated for the Rookie of the Month in November.
Given that Robinson-Earl is completely three years younger than Robbie, the decision to hand over the reins of the Starting Center is summed up. Robinson Earl, one of the provisions of this change, is also a very small size of 6 feet 9. In addition to this, the modern center stands 7 feet, so Dygno had to field the true center. Basically, the lobby will be phased out from rotation.
There are twists and turns during the regular season of Isaiah Roby. The third year was held at Oklahoma City Blue in mid-November, where he made two G-League appearances with 16.5 points, 12.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists, and after a series of positive performances, he seems to have returned to the start in December. am. .. That longing was crushed in a week.
This constant bullying of the NBA and G League contests left Roby in spinning purgatory-he’s enough to compete on the big stage-but he got lost because he wasn’t enough.
Isaiah Roby has struggled with the Field Minutes for most of the season.
Justin Ford / USA Today
His opportunity came three weeks ago.
The injured bug struck the Oklahoma City front court in mid-February. Serious injuries to Robinson Earl, mascara, and recent Fabers have severely weakened the front line of Dygno.To mitigate the damage, Thunder Alexei Poksevsky And ink Olivier Sal For additional services. But one man surpassed them all – Isaiah Roby.
In the match on Wednesday, Oklahoma City beat nine active players, but Isaiah Roby was reassigned as one of the league’s best players. Nikola Jokić.. The 6ft 8 forward played some extra sizes. In the evening, the lobby was a man with a mission. He started racking the contest with Thunder’s first 7-of-11 points, and by half-time his total points had risen to 13. Helping and assisting in snapping Denver’s six consecutive wins. On the night of the forward career night, his quick first step gained three simple roll assists and a catch-and-shoot ability of 3 to 4 of 5 outputs, revealing a playoff on the highball screen. I did.
Friday evening was almost the same spelling.The lobby went in the right direction Karl-Anthony Towns, Pack 11 of the first 17 points of Thunder into the statistics sheet. By the end of play, Robbie had his second best scoring outing in his career, ending the night with 21 points on the 7-of-15 shot chart. To tag the points, he also produced his third double-double of the year with 10 rebounds.
Throughout his 12 games as a starter this season, Roby’s numbers have passed a vision test. With an average of 11.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists, the forward numbers are impressive, but his 52.1% output and 14-of-24 (58.3% depth placement) may be even more admirable. May).
Overall, Isaiah Roby outperformed his cohort herd by scoring 11.3 points at the top of the starting unit. Darius Bazley (9.2), Aaron Wiggins (8.8), Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (7.6), and Derrick Favors (7.2).
Isaiah Roby will definitely stay in the fold as Thunder continues to endure the list of injuries. When Jeremiah Robinson Earl returns, no script has been written. And, based on past experience, Roby’s placement is uncertain.
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl played 36 out of 44 games this season.
Alonzo Adams / USA Today
This season’s Isaiah Roby story helps shed light on one of the biggest by-products of the reconstruction of Oklahoma City and what could lead to the future.
It’s clear when Isaiah Roby won the spot in regular rotation. He fits the mold because there are two solid seasons under his belt and the floor spacing is essential to Daigno’s blueprint. Problem – So is Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. And running two traditional forwards at five spots will be the main dice roll.
It’s a blessing and curse that Robbie is as versatile as he is. On one front, his 6’8, 7’3 wingspan frame makes him a viable option from 3 to 5. On the other hand, his twiner status is almost at a disadvantage as both forward spots are also locked down. For his rotation peers Lou Doruto, Kenrick Williams, Vito Krejč, And Aaron Wiggins was three, and Darius Buzzley and Alexei Poxevsky clogged the spot for four. In essence, he’s a Swiss Army knife, but Thunder already owns the entire set of tools.
The tendency of producers to look outside has occurred in the past, mainly Théo MaledonRelegation from the Minute Leader to the G League classic – but his volatile NBA play brought it to the fore. For Roby, performance is not an issue. It’s about opportunities – and it’s rocking.
Oklahoma City Thunder owns 38 draft topics, 19 of which are first rounders, and until 2028, reconstruction has just begun in Bricktown. Throughout the two seasons, the roster ended with almost no problems. Everyone has a fair share of execution, regardless of performance.
However, like any other organization, as the season progresses, the roster will become tighter and opportunities will diminish. Robbie may play very well when Robinson Earl returns, but his sporadic season sheds light on this season as well as the coming season.
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