After a rough first quarter derailed them in their first loss against the Boston Celtics, the Sixers were looking to wash that taste out of their mouth.
“We just didn’t want to have another slow start like
last game,” said Kelly Oubre Jr. after the Sixers routed the Brooklyn Nets 129-105 to improve to 5-1 on the season.
Against a lowly Nets squad still looking for its first win, Oubre made that very easy to do. He dropped 22 of his game-high 29 points in the first quarter, setting the tone for Philly’s first easy win of the season.
Tyrese Maxey knew he was fairly productive in the opening quarter, but was still surprised to hear just how many points he put up.
“How many did he have in the first quarter? 20? 22. Dang, yeah, he was really good,” Maxey said, “[He] shot the ball well, was really decisive on his drives, got to the paint, scored, did a good a job, played good defense too so that was amazing.”
In classic coach fashion, defense was the first thing Nick Nurse credited when asked about Oubre’s offensive explosion.
“The first thing to say about Kelly is that he had [Michael] Porter [Jr.] and held him to two points in the first half coming off a huge game,” Nurse said, “so he set the tone big time.”
Nurse is a big believer that effort given on that end can impact production on the other, and he certainly saw so in a positive way with his starting small forward.
“I really believe this to be true when you start the game super focused on D that normally translates to the other end too, it really does.”
Porter would go on to finish with 17 points, but it would take a 7-of-23 shooting performance, including going 1-of-12 from three-point range, to get there.
Oubre’s defense is something he’s always taken pride in, and he certainly subscribes to his coach’s philosophy that it can translate to offense as well.
“That is my bread and butter, I would say”Oubre said. “Ever since Kansas, Coach [Bill] Self did a good job of instilling that in me, but you know, I just wanted to be the best that I can be on both ends of the court. I had a tough matchup for somebody who can score the ball at a high clip so I just wanted to make sure I was really locked in on that end, disrupting his flow, and I think it worked out.”
That’s not to downplay what Oubre did offensively — both in this game and through the first six games on the whole. After that performance he’s now averaging 19.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, doing so with a 41.7% three-point percentage and a 62.2% effective field goal percentage.
At media day, Oubre referred to a lingering hand injury that goes back three seasons now to when he was on the Charlotte Hornets. He was hopeful that the treatment he got on that hand this offseason would help him improve from last year as a shooter. The way-too-early returns on that have been very good so far.
Oubre’s outside shooting has been a big help for the Sixers’ offense so far, but the consistency on which he’s shot from inside the arc has been one of the team’s most consistent sources of scoring so far in this young season.
After going 9-of-12 from inside the arc against the Nets, Oubre is now shooting a blistering 61.9% on two-pointers this season. An adjustment to jump stop in the lane and use both feet to get his shot off has really made him an effective driver. It’s a shot he’s been working on his entire basketball life.
“Those are the spots that you kind of get to, and it’s just either a floater or a runner, but [it’s] just getting my feet under me,” he said. “I definitely work on that a lot, but just getting to the spots is the main part, right? Because the defenses are different, but if it’s open, you know, just create some contact and shoot it.”
Oubre’s style of play is as aggressive and colorful as his dyed hair. That can often inject life into his team, but it can get him in trouble for being too out of control as well. Coming into this season, he was looking to maintain that intensity and passion while not letting the negative consequences impact his game.
“It’s just letting the game slow down, letting it come to me, not going out there and forcing things and not having any preconceived notions,” he said.
Especially in such an early part of the season, there is obviously a long way to go and plenty more to prove, but in Oubre’s own words, “it works.”
The newfound excitement around this team has largely centered on the new potential franchise cornerstones, but what Oubre’s been able to do so far has played as big a part in their 5-1 start.
