Friday film: Trendon Watford fitting in, Kelly Oubre Jr. doing it all and more takeaways from Sixers’ 1-2 road trip
After a resounding victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, the Sixers had high hopes for the remainder of their first road trip of the 2025-26 season. But they suffered a stunning collapse in Chicago on Tuesday and ran out of gas in Cleveland on Wednesday.
They are 5-3, which is good – an outcome any Sixers fan would have taken after a miserable 3-14 start to the 2024-25 campaign. That it feels the Sixers have let two winnable games escape them – Tuesday’s loss to the Bulls and a Halloween loss at home against the Boston Celtics – makes their 5-3 record more encouraging.
The Sixers have made some strides defensively in recent games, but their overall cohesion on that end of the floor is still far from where it needs to be. The Bulls game represented their first true growing pains as an offense. Things are far from perfect, but the team’s circumstances are a far cry from the nightmarish ones they created for themselves around this time a year ago.
In this week’s Friday film, a look at three Sixers who stood out on the team’s three-game road trip:
Trendon Watford fitting in
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse has long been an admirer of Watford, the soon-to-be 25-year-old whose ball-handling and passing chops are special for a 6-foot-9 power forward. Entering the season, Watford was the favorite to emerge from a pack of rotation hopefuls and earn a significant number of minutes at the four. But a hamstring injury wiped out his entire training camp and preseason.
After a few rather muted performances upon returning to the court, Watford has really found his stride of late. He was stellar on their road trip and is making a compelling case that his role should expand. Watford has been on the ball more and more frequently; at times he looks like a traditional point guard rather than a point forward. He had a terrific all-around performance against his former team in Brooklyn:
Trendon Watford in his third game as a member of the Sixers:
16 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 7-9 FG, 1-2 3P
All of Watford’s made shots and assists from Sunday’s game in Brooklyn: pic.twitter.com/fRgXfGvFDn
— Adam Aaronson’s clips (@SixersAdamClips) November 3, 2025
“All of [my teammates were] saying ‘revenge game,'” Watford said. “I don’t know if I’d call it a revenge game. But actually, I will call it a revenge game.”
Watford had a few excellent moments in Chicago as well, beginning with a picture-perfect spin and left-handed finish through contact on a drive. Defenses expect Watford to be looking for the pass, so he has the ability to surprise them with sudden attacks like this one:
While Watford is not a tremendous rebounder for his size, he is outstanding on the glass for someone with such comfort initiating transition offense. Watford looks to push the pace every time he grabs a defensive rebound and has already collected plenty of transition assists:
And even if Watford’s passing skills are maximized in transition, his ability to see over the top of defenders and calmly read the floor enables him to drop some dimes in half-court offense:
If the Brooklyn game was Watford’s best all-around performance, he was nearly as good in Cleveland, but had his best scoring performance as a member of the Sixers against the Cavaliers. Watford knocked down two triples, a particularly important part of him raising his ceiling as an offensive contributor. Watford had a tremendous scoring stretch in the second quarter that helped keep the Sixers afloat when they nearly let go of the rope early:
Trendon Watford on Wednesday in Cleveland:
16 points (5-9 FG, 2-2 3P, 4-4 FT), 6 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals in 23 minutes.
All of Watford’s baskets and assists: pic.twitter.com/bQ3pXTgnLS
— Adam Aaronson’s clips (@SixersAdamClips) November 6, 2025
Tyrese Maxey, a close friend of Watford’s dating back to high school, said in Brooklyn that what Watford did against the Nets “is kind of who he is.”
“We’re going to need a lot more of that from him,” Maxey said.
MORE: Sixers fall to Cavaliers
Kelly Oubre Jr. setting the tone
On Sunday in Brooklyn, Oubre scored 22 of his 29 points in the first quarter. The veteran swingman pummeled mismatches and took advantage of spot-up opportunities, turning in a remarkable three-level heater:
Kelly Oubre Jr. scored a season-high 29 points in a season-low 33 minutes in the Sixers’ win over Brooklyn on Sunday. He scored 22 points in the first quarter alone.
All of Oubre’s made shots against the Nets: pic.twitter.com/BblmfjpAvo
— Adam Aaronson’s clips (@SixersAdamClips) November 3, 2025
But when Nurse praised Oubre for setting the tone after that game, his focus was not on Oubre’s scoring.
“Listen, the first thing to say about Kelly is that he [guarded Michael Porter Jr.] and held him to two points in the first half,” Nurse said. “He just had a huge game. So he set the tone big-time on that, and again, I really believe this to be true: When you start the game super focused on [defense], that really usually translates to the other end, too. It really does.”
Oubre has embrace his role as the Sixers’ most reliable perimeter defender, defending one through four reliably. It has also felt, at least anecdotally, as if many of his finest defensive moments have come early in games. It has allowed him to set the tone there and then round out his night elsewhere as the game moves along, just as he did in Chicago:
Kelly Oubre Jr. continues to set the tone for the Sixers defensively while providing three-level scoring. Oubre’s full highlights from Tuesday’s game in Chicago (18 points, 7-11 FG, 2 steals, 2 blocks): pic.twitter.com/h71g7gCJot
— Adam Aaronson’s clips (@SixersAdamClips) November 5, 2025
Oubre has had an outstanding season so far, and improved three-point accuracy is probably the headliner in terms of his performance through eight games. But Oubre’s value has come from how many different ways he has proven to be a helpful piece of this puzzle.
“He’s rebounded, he’s shot the ball well, he’s defended well, he’s gotten to the paint and created offense for us,” Maxey said, “so all of that’s good.”
MORE: Is Jared McCain now a trade candidate?
Jabari Walker doing the dirty work
Walker has not done enough in eight games to prove that he is worthy of a permanent rotation spot. Walker is 0-for-6 on three-point tries in 111 minutes; he has only scored 24 total points. But even if Walker turns out to be a situational frontcourt piece, it will be a worthwhile use of a two-way slot.
The 23-year-old’s path to consistent reliability will, to some degree, hinge on a bit more scoring capability. But it will be powered by his sheer hustle and determination, both as a defender and on the glass. Walker is a terrific rebounder, and after a surprisingly slow start to the season on that front he has really found his stride doing the dirty work. Walker had some strong defensive moments against Cleveland, but he had a large collection of hustle plays in the Bulls game specifically:
In a wide-ranging interview last month, Samaki Walker – a 10-year NBA veteran and Jabari’s father – told PhillyVoice that his son needed to learn to have “split personalities.” He was thrilled that his son has grown into a caring human being, but on the basketball court he needs to develop a mean streak of sorts, an additional layer of toughness as he fights to prove he is deserving of a standard contract. Walker is certainly playing with a special fire right now.
MORE: Samai
ki and Jabari Walker talk to PhillyVoice
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