The Golden State Warriors did not account for Kelly Oubre Jr. to begin the season at a historically bad pace on offense.
When making preseason predictions for the Golden State Warriors, nobody expected Kelly Oubre Jr. to completely forget how to shoot the basketball. Sure, some weren’t convinced he’d be a consistent floor spacer or anywhere near a replacement for Klay Thompson – but did anybody think he’d be Ben Simmons 2.0?
Oubre has begun the season 0-for-17 from the 3-point line. Even more concerning, Oubre began 0-for-31 on non-dunk attempts. This isn’t what the Warriors envisioned when they traded for him in the offseason. 7.
Oubre Jr is now 0-31 on non-dunk attempts this season.
— Preston Johnson (@SportsCheetah) December 28, 2020
We’ll give credit where credit is due. Oubre has managed to haul in 7.7 rebounds per game and play solid perimeter defense. And, truth be told, he’s pretty entertaining when he attacks the basket and slams over opponents.
But, the Warriors will need more than the occasional highlight and rebound from Oubre to remain competitive. This team is struggling to score and all efforts must be centered around taking attention off of Stephen Curry so he can operate more comfortably.
Oubre isn’t just underwhelming as a shoot, he is completely failing. According to NBA.com, Oubre is an astonishing 0-for-13 on WIDE OPEN 3-point attempts. There is just no excuse for this.
The young forward has never been a sniper from deep. His career-high is only 35.2 percent, a mark he reached last season. However, he has solid mechanics and seemed to be trending in the right direction entering his stint in Golden State.
So, what happened? Is this just a case of missing open shots?
Only time will tell. For now, Oubre needs to find a way to knock down a shot and build some confidence. His misses are snowballing and making it more difficult for the rest of the team to score. It’s this simple, Oubre needs to hit open shots.