Wizards: 5 Midseason Takeaways

4. The Rook Gets His Chance

The cliche saying of “next man up” when a professional sports team is dealing with a plethora of injuries may be interpreted as a player just saying the politically correct statement to the media. But for this team, they had no choice, as the Wizards had only the NBA-minimum eight players in uniform for some games.

No one took better advantage of that than the rookie out of the University of Kansas, Kelly Oubre Jr. As the season approached, Oubre Jr. was coming off a productive Summer League, but with a roster full of seasoned veterans, he knew playing time would be something he would have to be patient and earn.

With Bradley Beal and Gary Neal missing time, Oubre saw significant playing time fall his way and was even inserted into the starting lineup for nine games. He made usual rookie mistakes along the way, but he also showed great signs that he can knock down three’s off John Wall’s penetration.

His defense was solid for a guy who was benched a year ago in college for not putting forth the needed effort, and his effort in the rebounding department shouldn’t go unnoticed.

With the majority of the roster back and playing, Oubre has once again been placed on the back burner to the veterans, but if the guys in front of him continue to struggle as they’ve been, Oubre could get another chance to prove why he belongs in the nightly rotation.

Next: 5. A More Exciting Brand