Kelly Oubre's Searching for Consistency After Showing vs. Bucks
After a four-game meaningless stretch, newly-acquired Philadelphia 76ers veteran Kelly Oubre added some high expectations for himself as he displayed some excellent scoring bursts during the preseason.
The Sixers knew Oubre could score the ball when they got him. After all, he was coming off a season where he averaged a career-high 20 points per game with the Charlotte Hornets. However, efficiency was an issue for Oubre in Charlotte.
He might’ve racked up the points, but he did it while shooting 43 percent from the field, and under 33 percent from beyond the arc. As a starter on a team with very little expectations, Oubre had the freedom to take over the reigns on a team that wasn’t headed for playoff contention.
In Philadelphia, he was joining a team on a much different timeline. The Sixers possess the league’s scoring champion and MVP from last season in Joel Embiid. They also have a thriving young guard and potential future All-Star in Tyrese Maxey. While the offense doesn’t tend to feature guys like Tobias Harris and De’Anthony Melton, they are available to get theirs on any given night as well.
Oubre looked forward to the challenge of playing on a team that has something to compete for, even if it meant a role coming off the bench after starting 40 games last season. While it was assumed the former Charlotte standout would have to blend in with a complementary role in Philadelphia, Oubre made it known that he still planned to shine in his role and Thursday’s performance against the Milwaukee Bucks was certainly a great start.
Checking in for his seven minutes off the bench in the first quarter, Oubre was just the spark the Sixers needed as he knocked down all of his shots, with two coming from beyond the arc. In the second quarter, the Sixers started to lose control a bit as they trailed by 19, but an 18-6 run before closing out the half got the Sixers within striking distance.
During the Sixers’ preseason, Oubre had night and day halves. One half he could be red-hot from the field, hitting on most of his shots before struggling to remain consistent in the next. Thursday’s game was not one of those scenarios for Oubre, who continued to be an ideal presence for the 76ers.
Oubre produced 13 points for the Sixers in the first half, tying Tyrese Maxey while spending five fewer minutes on the floor, and taking six fewer shots. In the second half, Oubre tacked on another 14 points in his near-18-minute shift off the bench, missing just two of his shots from the field after shooting perfectly in his first 14 minutes of action.
By the end of the night, Oubre had 27 points to show for, trailing only Maxey in the scoring department. The veteran’s Sixers debut put a highly efficient scoring night on display, as he drilled 82 percent of his shots from the field, going early perfect from three, hitting on five of his six attempts.
It was a promising sight for the Sixers, who lost a couple of key bench scorers to free agency this past summer, but Oubre knows he has to stay focused in order to maintain that type of performance throughout a busy season.
“First game of the season — a long season — I’m still trying to figure out my way around this new landscape for me,” Oubre told reporters after the matchup. “Only thing I can do is control the energy that I bring to the table and that was there. Now, it’s about being consistent and tapping back back into whatever I did to prepare for tonight. Studying the game and getting ready, my pregame routine. Just keeping that consistent for 82.”
Oubre’s 32-minute shift on Thursday was the result of him being the hot hand in a rather tough matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks. While the Sixers didn’t have much to celebrate, considering they were handed a tight loss, Oubre offered a positive spark from the game, adding intrigue to how he handles his role moving forward.
