Kelly Oubre's Calf Injury Gives the Pacers' Rims a Much-Needed Break
Underdog NBA tweeted: 'Kelly Oubre (calf) listed out Wednesday.'
Kelly Oubre is officially out for Wednesday's game with a calf injury, which is devastating news for anyone who loves watching a guy shoot 20 percent from the floor with unwavering confidence.
The Underdog NBA update confirms the Indiana Pacers will have to navigate their rotation without their veteran wing. But let's be honest, this might be the rare injury report that actually improves a team's offensive spacing.
If you haven't checked Oubre's stat line this season, it reads like a typo. After averaging a respectable 14.1 points with the last year, he is currently putting up 3.5 points and 2.0 rebounds for Indiana while shooting a mathematically improbable 20.0 percent from the field.
You could pull a random fan out of the upper deck, put them in a jersey, and they would at least hesitate before taking some of the shots Oubre has been launching. He is playing basketball like a guy trying to clear a prop bet that only he knows about.
For fantasy managers and bettors, this absence clears up a messy wing rotation. You no longer have to guess if tonight is the night Oubre randomly catches fire or if he is going to build a brick house from the corner.
The Pacers need reliable production to keep pace in the Eastern Conference, and carrying a sub-replacement-level shooting slump is a luxury they cannot afford right now.
We will see if the calf issue lingers into the weekend. Until then, Indiana gets a forced break from the Kelly Oubre experience, and the local rims get a much-needed night off.