The whims of the ugly situation will not make anyone want to sound like a broken record right now, but the Philadelphia 76ers are off to a disastrous start this season. Only one team is currrently bannering a worse record than them in the entire league, and there is no clear indication that their ordeal will be over in a flash.
Given this degree of futility, tossing up the club’s struggles to injuries for their failure to rack up wins is way too convenient of an excuse. The 76ers still have a talent advantage over a lot of teams, and the truth of the matter is they have just looked really sluggish as a collective so far in this campaign.
In between the inteermittent absence of their All-Stars, the players supposed to step up have, for the most part, failed to do just that. Save for the likes of Jared McCain and Guerschon Yabusele, you would be hard-pressed to find a player on the roster who has risen to the plate on a consistent basis.
Ugly start could force the 76ers trade the struggling Kelly Oubre Jr.
One player who has struggled immensely so far is Kelly Oubre Jr. Last season, he was a consistent force for the 76ers, bringing high-ceiling scoring as a third option and showing his mettle as an improved defender and overall team player.
The partnership started off so good that Oubre, despite being widely expected to skip town to pursue a bigger payday, opted to stay in Philadelphia on a big discount.
Unfortunately, there has been a reversal on that end this season.
Through 12 games, Oubre has registered 13.8 points and 4.7 rebounds — numbers that look pretty standard for a role players — unless you factor in the fact that he is norming 31.1 minutes per outing. His shooting splits, to the tune of 40.9 percent shooting overall and a puny 26.8 percent accuracy on three-pointers, also do not look good at the slightest.
Oubre has also looked more mediocre, if not nonchalant, on defense this season. Even the return of Joel Embiid and Paul George, which took away some defensive attention from him, has not helped raise his efficiency.
Should this keep going, the Philadelphia 76ers could have no choice but to find a taker for his services in pursuit of a better-fitting role players that can help address more pressing needs on the roster.
Still, Kelly Oubre Jr. is a good fit himself on this team. Hopefully, he can figure it out.
And make it fast.