Oklahoma City Thunder fans can rejoice! Dennis Schroder is making his return to the team!
Posting a video to Instagram within the NBA Bubble on Tuesday, the guard will be a welcomed return back to the rotation after having to leave the Bubble on August 3 so he could be there for the birth of his daughter. Needless to say, especially for Thunder fans his presence has been missed with the team going 2-3 in his absence as head coach Billy Donovan has had to play mad scientist in a sense working with different wings and typically off-ball guards on the lead ball-handler role. This was ever so the case the other night in a blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns.
Timing wise, Schroder’s impending return — as long as he doesn’t have COVID-19 making his way back into the Bubble — couldn’t have come at a better time. Eluding to Donovan having trouble finding playmakers off the bench previously and with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s shooting numbers declining slightly, the NBA playoffs are set to begin on August 17 and the Thunder need all the help they can get, especially with three key players (not including Shroder) being on the self.
All things considered, Schroder making his way back to floor should notably give betters and oddsmakers a little less to think about if they’re making any considerations towards rolling the dice with the Thunder. According to the NBA odds at Sports Betting Dime, Miami still holds a slight edge over OKC heading into tonight’s tip, however, continuing to find a more consistent offense in Schroder’s return should only continue to raise that OKC line moving forward.
As it stands now, the Thunder are holding steady between the seven and eight seeds in the Western Conference with one more regular season game to play after Wednesday night.
