What to Look For In Friday's Scrimmage Vs. The Celtics

For the First time in almost five months, the Oklahoma City Thunder will play basketball. Here are a few things to watch for as Billy Donovan's crew gets ready for Boston Celtics.

Will Andre Roberson Play:

Andre Roberson has missed 180 games since rupturing the patellar tendon in his left knee in January of 2018. In April, during an interview with Buffs TV, Roberson said, "I'm kind of past the rehab stage; I'm almost to the point of where I should be playing honestly." Since arriving in Orlando, he has been able to participate in practices, and according to Donovan, the four-month shutdown is giving him a better chance to play.

🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽#ALLPraiseToMostHigh https://t.co/nrsVBDry2c
— Andre Roberson (@FlyDre21) July 24, 2020

"You're not practicing nearly as much we've gone up and down in practice quite a bit these last ten days."..."You wouldn't get that if Andre was coming back at the end of the season, so there's no question this is very, very beneficial to our team. It's very beneficial to Andre being incorporated back into our team."

Sam Presti gives Roberson praise for staying engaged with the team while trying to get back on the court, but says, "We still have some ways to go to get to that point."

How Much Time Does Darius Bazley Get:

Darius Bazley sat out the Thunder's last 11 games with a right knee bone bruise. Before going on the shelf, Bazley was averaging 4.5 points in 17 minutes a game. Bazely says he is 100 percent recovered and "ready to go."

Bazley, along with Terrance Ferguson, Lu Dort, and Sahi Gilgous-Alexander, hit the weights while waiting to get back in the gym. Donovan says, "I think Darius Bazley physically has made a nice jump for us. We'll see how he can continue to develop; he's obviously been away from the game for quite some time with his injury."

Bazley has the athletic ability to play at least three positions; what we are seeing now, is a raw talent that, over time, could be developed into one of the league's most dynamic players.

Who Starts At Shooting Guard:

Despiting getting a full-time NBA contract Billy Donovan is not committing to putting Lu Dort Back in the starting lineup. Dort took over for Terrance Ferguson in January when Ferguson took a leave of absence. While Donovan likes having Dort on the Floor with the starting lineup, he has made mention of Ferguson several times during his media availability.

Donovan is a fan of Ferguson's consistency and work ethic. " "I think the biggest thing with Terrance is his reliability."..."You know you're gonna get a guy who's gonna be really really locked in defensively."

If Andre Roberson is healthy, Ferguson and Dort will have stiff competition for that spot in the starring five.

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With more than 20 years of experience hosting local and national radio shows, Erik Gee is a fixture of Oklahoma sports media. He has covered the Oklahoma City Thunder for the past six seasons. He is also the co-host of the Pat Jones show on 97.1 The Sports Animal in Tulsa.