On paper, Kelly Oubre Jr.'s second game for the Indiana Pacers was an absolute nightmare. He scored just three points on one of 10 shooting and was a -16 in the plus/minus in a 121-105 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
Now, clearly Oubre did not play well. That's not hard to glean from just that stat line. However, this was a game in which the Pacers, as a team, played dreadfully in the first half, finishing the second quarter down 77 to 43.
In a game in which the team as a whole played so badly, it feels like this is one of those games in which you just need to throw out the data and move on.
The Pacers are set to play the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday evening, and it will be a good chance for Indiana to get back on track. At times, they've looked like world beaters. It makes them that they would also have games in which they look beatable at best and remarkably weak at worst.
Indiana sits at 1-1 through two games. They will have 80 more chances to beat their opponents and claim the playoff spot they so clearly covet. To do so, Oubre will need to play better, and the wing rotation will need to be far more stable and far more locked in than it has been in those two contests.
Oubre in Purgatory
Oubre played at his best in the first game when he was allowed to join the starters in the absence of Aaron Nesmith. However, while Nesmith returned in Game 2, the former Vanderbilt wing was also brought off the bench.
It was Jarace Walker who earned the start, despite a lackluster performance in a vital first game in what could be his do-or-die season.
Walker was dreadful, but that's not really surprising anyone. If a player who has been a difference-maker in his entire career in Oubre struggled so heavily, it's not shocking that Walker did as well.
Oddly, a wing group that once felt so clear in their roles and regards now feels muddy. Andrew Nembhard is clearly the starting shooting guard, with Nesmith ramping up to be the starting three.
The expectation was that if either of those players missed time, it would be Oubre stepping up. Instead, it has been Walker who has gotten the biggest boost despite uninspiring play. If the Pacers want to return to the level that fans think they're capable of, they'll need to figure out the rotation and the roles that come with it.
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