PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia 76ers forward Kelly Oubre Jr. is continuing to recover from the rib fracture he suffered when struck by a vehicle on Nov. 11. The Sixers are understandably being very cautious with the veteran out of Kansas at this stage of his recovery.
However, Oubre is progressing. It is a step-by-step process, but it is worth keeping an eye on from Philadelphia’s standpoint.
Before the Sixers took on the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, coach Nick Nurse revealed Oubre had joined them at their morning shootaround.
“He did join us for shootaround today, but shootaround’s not a whole lot,” said Nurse before the contest with the Lakers. “There’s very little up and down and most of that’s all done in the half-court, but he was there.”
Nurse hinted Oubre might join the team at practice on Tuesday, but he isn’t sure yet. It will come down to Vice President of Athlete Care Simon Rice’s assessment of the bouncy wing player for Philadelphia.
“Not sure yet,” Nurse added. “I think we’re leaning toward seeing where he’s at tomorrow for practice. I know Simon gave me an update that we wanted him in shootaround today and see how it goes tomorrow. I’m not sure if he’s gonna be a full participant or not. So you can ask me after practice how it went, but I think Simon’s trying to push him along and get him going here and see exactly where we’re at with the physicality standpoint and that happens tomorrow at practice.”
Oubre was with the Sixers as they got set to take on the Lakers. Obviously, he is not playing amid his recovery, but his return to the team is an encouraging sign.
“Pretty good,” Nurse added of how Oubre looks. “His shooting looks good. He looks pretty bouncy out there, but again, that’s different than running into bodies.”
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