Kelly Oubre was confident that he would be available for Wednesday’s game at Charlotte Douglas International Airport before he left Spectrum Center. The Charlotte Hornets will take the TD Garden floor at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. This is exactly two weeks after their last matchup against Boston in Boston. Kelly Oubre, the swingman, will be returning to the lineup for the first week in a row after he was sidelined with a sprained left leg. Oubre said to The Observer that he was going to play. “I’m going play. “I feel pretty good. Oubre is feeling pretty good. Oubre nearly blew the nets away with his 10 3-pointers, 39 points off of the bench and record-breaking performance in Indianapolis. It turns out that there is more to his hot-shooting evening.
The majority of his pain was caused by the fall that eventually led to his injury. Oubre stated that he was involved in a play that saw Lance Stephenson and Oubre contest a shot. “His body fell on my ankle mid-game and I rolled it in.” It was one of those situations where I had to battle through that, be mentally tough, and finish the game.” After the buzzer sounded, Oubre felt the adrenaline wear off. Oubre took off his left shoe and noticed something wasn’t right. He tried to relieve any discomfort immediately and soaked his ankle in an ice bucket until he was ready to return to Charlotte. Oubre stated, “After the game I sat down and iced it, then it swelled really, really large.” Oubre stated, “So I had no choice but to take some time off.” He was listed as questionable prior to each game and believed he would be able return to the fold soon. Oubre did not believe that playing through ankle injuries made any sense. He contributes 16.7 points, 4 rebounds and 1.2 assists off the bench which is too valuable for the Hornets to lose him for an extended time.
On top of the swelling, he felt tenderness. Over the past week, he wasn’t himself and he knew that. He said, “I didn’t have the proper range motion I normally have so I didn’t feel like forcing it.” “Because it would just linger. “So I was trying to take preventive measures.” He was focused on soft tissue treatment for the past week. It contained something that many people find disgusting. Oubre stated, “A lot of needles.” That is what allows me to quickly get back on the field. The needles are just acupuncture. It is a way of keeping everything moving. Oubre stated, “Nah. I’m going give it all that I have.” Oubre said, “If I’m playing on the court, it’s 110.” Gordon Hayward is not on track to wear the same. Hayward passed safety and health protocols but didn’t travel with the team to Boston. He is now out. For conditioning, he’ll be staying in Charlotte.