While Otto Porter Jr. and Bradley Beal have each missed part of this NBA season due to injuries, Kelly Oubre Jr. has had multiple chances to play and been rather successful. The only problem is that when they return to play, Randy Wittman seems to be unable to balance Oubre’s time with the veterans.
Oubre played very well in his nine starts, and there is no reason he should only be playing seven minutes like he did in last night’s loss to the Denver Nuggets. Wittman gave him an opportunity to show how productive he could be as a starter, and he played better than anybody expected but has now been sentenced to minimal minutes. Oubre needs to be played more to reward him for his performance while Porter and Beal were out.
The Washington Wizards have had a lot of success on the defensive end while both Oubre and Porter are on the floor at the same time. Their length, youth, speed and energy have provided Washington with some of their best defensive moments this year.
Kelly Oubre Jr., Otto Porter showing more comfort on court together, writes @Todd_Dybas. https://t.co/vzE1G7dKt5 pic.twitter.com/b177QIOomj
— WashTimesSports (@WashTimesSports) January 6, 2016
At times, the defense has looked sluggish and given up way too many points. There is no better way to increase the intensity than by playing two young guys who love to run the floor at the same time. Playing Oubre and Porter allows Washington to turn their defense into offense and score many easy baskets off steals.
Oubre needs to see more time, and it would be ideal for those minutes to be in tandem with Porter. The strategy worked at first and needs to be put back into action. With the young pieces the Wizards have, they have to run the floor better by giving the former Kansas forward more time.
