Washington Wizards: 3 takeaways from preseason loss against Heat
By Randy Porga
3. Another rough night for Kelly Oubre Jr.
It was yet another rough night for Kelly Oubre Jr., who failed to shoot an acceptable field goal percentage, and missed all of his 3-point attempts. If you leave any player on the court long enough they will be sure to score at some point, and that was the case with Oubre Jr. tonight.
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In 25 minutes of play, each minute passed and nothing very impressive or surprising emerged from the third-year playe, who everyone from fans to game commenters continue to point out he is just 21 years old. While that may be the case, he is showing very little improvement in his decision-making, defense and ability to hit the long ball.
Although he did finish the night with a double-double of 10 points and 14 rebounds to lead the team, it is still difficult to find a silver lining. He also led the team with four turnovers, mostly the result of very poor ball-handling. Each time he gave the ball up, he exhibited poor body language and could be seen not giving 100 percent to defend down the other side of the court.
He finished shooting 3-for-9 from the field and 0-for-4 from beyond the arc.
With the kind of night Jason Smith — Oubre’s competition for the starting job at the 4 — had after having a complete stinker just two games ago, he showed up for the occasion and may have earned himself the starting spot for the injured Markieff Morris. This game had “blown opportunities” written all over it for Kelly Oubre Jr.