Kelly Oubre Jr. was very happy to answer a question about his defense Monday night.
“Yeah,” Oubre said with a smile when he heard the words “night four blocks away.”
Thanks to a successful challenge from head coach Nick Nurse, Oubre was ultimately credited with five rejections in Sixers victory against the Heat, who established a new a career high.
Scoring is still his calling card, but he’s made plenty of big, encouraging plays besides getting in the bucket. Joel Embiid sidelined with left meniscus injury.
Defensively, Oubre has often mixed his agility, length (a wingspan of just over 7-foot-2) and ball-hunting instincts well as of late. He was brilliant in Sixers victory on March 10 against the Knicks and All-Star guard Jalen Brunson, who shot 2 of 9 from the floor with Oubre defending him.
Against Miami, Oubre demonstrated his ability to be disruptive without the need to take reckless risks. His blocks ranged from an off-script hit on Thomas Bryant to a last-minute stonewall of Jaime Jaquez Jr. in the post.
“The timing, not as many fouls, and just trying to be in the right spots,” Oubre said. “A lot of times I’m a good defender on the ball, but helping out and being away from the other team’s best players is where I fail. So I try to be focused and be there for my guys no matter what. If someone is beaten, I’m here to help them.
“We need to make extra efforts. It’s just effort and energy, that’s what defense is all about. I’m just trying to be really focused on that.
Those efforts have impressed teammates like Tyrese Maxey, who of course also appreciated Oubre’s 20.7 points per game so far in March.
“Kelly has been great,” Maxey said. “He’s played so many different roles this year. He came off the bench, he started. He sometimes had to be the second option, the third option, the fourth option. You have to cut, go to iso, make threes, keep the best player. He has kept very well this year. Kudos to Kelly, man. He’s been great for us and we’re going to continue to need him to do that, especially in the playoffs.
With 14 regular season games remaining, the Sixers are hoping Oubre’s passing can continue to increase as well.
Throughout his career, Oubre has unequivocally been a player focused on shots and assists. He has only recorded more than five assists in a match once and his season high is four. However, Nurse believes the 28-year-old winger has improved a bit in his ability to make judicious, controlled passes and capitalize on all the attention he attracts.
“He made a great first step, man,” Nurse said. “It’s difficult for one defender to keep him in front. And then you kind of tell him, “These guys watch movies, right? So if you want to beat everyone all the time, they have to send people. And they’re sending a lot of people now, so you have to take the next step.
“My favorite thing is for him to get to six or eight feet and balance himself. He is therefore able to circulate this pass. … But even if that (pass) isn’t open, he can get his act together and maybe make some kind of balancing shot – or pump a fake, or try to draw a foul or something. So we try to allow him to (drive) there and make several decisions. And we’re making progress there.
Oubre delivered a clutch dish on March 3 in Dallas with the kind of balanced approach Nurse likes to see. He pulled into the paint, paused briefly and recognized that Kyrie Irving had left Tobias Harris open in the corner.
“We watch a lot of film, we break down a lot of plays,” Oubre said. “(Assistant coach) Coby Karl is one of the guys I thank for helping me – just talking to me, taking me out of the way. He’s not my main shooting coach or anything like that, but he’s a guy who talks to everyone and makes sure we’re all good mentally and physically. And also (Assistant Coach/Player Development Coach Fabulous Flournoy). We’ve just been watching movies all year and it’s kind of paying off now.
As the NBA world knows, the Sixers’ playoff hopes rest largely on Embiid and Maxey. But before he suffered a broken rib in November and missed 11 gamesOubre had looked like a non-star player who might be able to win a playoff series.
Again, this idea doesn’t seem ridiculous.
“He’s getting there,” Nurse said before Monday’s game. “I was afraid, after the injury, that he would never really find his feet again. But I think he found them and more. I’m happy with where he is right now.
