Sixers’ Kelly Oubre Jr. says he’s playing vs. Hornets on Saturday
An elbow sprain has kept Oubre out of the past eight games, but he said Friday that he will be back against Charlotte.
Kelly Oubre Jr. plans to return from an elbow sprain for Saturday’s 76ers game at the Charlotte Hornets, he told reporters following Friday’s practice.
“I don’t know if I’m breaking news or not,” said Oubre, who has missed eight games with the injury. “I don’t care. Yeah, I’m playing basketball [Saturday].”
Oubre sustained the injury in the closing moments of the Sixers’ March 10 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, when he totaled a season-high 30 points and 12 rebounds. Oubre has averaged 14.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.3 steals 41 games this season, and missed about seven weeks from mid-November to early January with a knee sprain.
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Oubre’s return would be the latest for a Sixers team getting healthier during the regular season’s stretch run. Joel Embiid (oblique) and Paul George (suspension) both came back for Wednesday’s 157-137 victory over the Chicago Bulls, when the Sixers amassed their highest single-game point total since 1970. All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey (pinkie sprain) is scheduled to be reevaluated in about a week, but has begun to dribble and shoot with his right hand in recent days.
The Sixers are jostling for playoff positioning in a crowded Eastern Conference. Two games separated fifth and 10th place entering Friday. The Sixers were in seventh, a half-game behind the sixth-place Toronto Raptors and one game ahead of the eighth-place Orlando Magic, ninth-place Hornets, and 10th-place Miami Heat.