Nick Nurse talks play of Kelly Oubre Jr. in Sixers vs. Celtics series
Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse commented on Kelly Oubre Jr.'s performance in the team's first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics, acknowledging his offensive struggles but praising his strong defensive contributions. Despite averaging only 9.0 points and shooting poorly from the field and three-point range, Oubre has been tasked with guarding elite scorers Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Nurse emphasized that Oubre's defensive effort and versatility have been valuable to the team, and expressed confidence his offense will eventually come around.
- ▪Kelly Oubre Jr. is averaging 9.0 points per game in the series while shooting 38.3% from the field and 15.8% from three-point range.
- ▪Nick Nurse credited Oubre for his strong defensive work against Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown despite offensive struggles.
- ▪Oubre's length and defensive versatility have made him a key contributor for the 76ers in the series.
- ▪Nurse expressed confidence that Oubre's shooting will improve and noted he has had close attempts that could boost his offensive impact.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/nick-nurse-talks-play-kelly-201524747.html","headline":"Nick Nurse talks play of Kelly Oubre Jr. in Sixers vs. Celtics series","datePublished":"2026-04-30T20:15:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-30T20:15:24.000Z","keywords":["Kelly Oubre Jr.","Boston Celtics","Philadelphia 76ers","Nick Nurse","defensive assignment","offensive numbers","Philadelphia","series","Jayson Tatum","Jaylen Brown"],"description":"Coach Nick Nurse discusses the play of Kelly Oubre Jr.
…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Yahoo Sports.