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. He said Friday that he has been dealing with inflammation and pain management during his recovery, but he told the training staff he wanted to return as soon as he could move his elbow and dribble without discomfort.
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Oubre, a veteran wing, is averaging 14.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.3 steals across 41 games in arguably his best NBA season. He missed about seven weeks from mid-November to early January with a knee sprain.
Sixers coach Nick Nurse echoed that he is “pretty sure” Oubre will be cleared to play Saturday. When asked how he plans to deploy the Sixers’ forward rotation, Nurse said he will not “lock that in” until Oubre’s status is officially determined by medical staff. Though Oubre, Paul George, and Dominick Barlow have started at least 28 games this season, all three players have rarely been available at the same time.
Oubre’s return would be the latest for a Sixers team getting healthier during the regular season’s stretch run.
George (suspension) and former NBA MVP Joel Embiid (oblique) 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 (little finger sprain) is questionable to play in Saturday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets and has begun to dribble and shoot with his right hand in recent days.
The Sixers (40-33) 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.
