Nerlens Noel: Sixers New-Look Frontcourt

Just when it seemed like Nerlens Noel had settled into his role in the paint and built a defensive name for himself through rim protection and continual acts of thievery, the Philadelphia 76ers rookie was relocated to power forward just in time for the Sixers’ Sunday afternoon meeting with Kevin Love and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

More from Philadelphia 76ers

Prior to the game, head coach Brett Brown spoke on wanting to move Noel around in preparation of playing with Joel Embiid next season, via Dei Lynam of CSN Philly:

"“For the next nine games I want to try playing him off of five men,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said pregame of Noel. “I am trying to look at him when it ultimately is going to be he and Joel [Embiid].“Joel played one-on-one out there for the first few times. We are all excited about that. I stepped back and said if the season ended now, what would you regret, and that would be that I didn’t play Nerlens more at the four than I have.”"

As you could expect, being forced to step out and defend a stretch-four that lives on the perimeter would be a step outside of The Eraser’s comfort zone. Noel’s presence in the paint has begun to instill fear and second thoughts in those attacking the rim, courtesy of Noel’s two blocks per game, but making the jump from hovering around the paint to defending an elite caliber power forward outside understandably made for concerns from Brown.

"“My first reaction is the defense,” Brown said of what end of the floor will be tougher for Noel. “He is going to have to find Kevin Love. He can’t just run to the rim. He is going to have to find somebody who can stretch the floor and hit many threes.”"

This matchup would prove problematic for Noel. On several occasions, it was clear Noel’s instincts were to gravitate towards the rim, thus, leaving Love open for some easy looks. Luckily for Noel, his athleticism was able to keep him alive and help limit Love to only 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting, but the eye test clearly indicated Noel was taken out of his defensive rhythm by having to defend the perimeter.

Offensively, Noel’s struggles were much more apparent. He seemed to be trying to stretch the floor and play more of a stretch-four than a center and this weakness of his showed up on the stat sheet. Noel finished with eight points on 4-of-12 shooting from the field, but when you cut out the three lobs for easy dunks, Noel connected on only 1-of-9 field goals.

In place of Noel, Furkan Aldemir got the start at center, making it his first career start in the NBA. This is the frontcourt combination Brown plans on sticking with for the 76ers’ remaining eight games, per NBA.com.

Mar 29, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) prepares to shoot the ball past Philadelphia 76ers forward Furkan Aldemir (19) in the first quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

While we can expect the next two weeks to provide some growing pains for Noel at power forward, Aldemir should finally be presented with some consistent minutes, in hopes of proving his worth before the season concludes.

In his first ever career start, Aldemir didn’t disappoint after recording his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. In his longest stint of the season – 27 minutes – Aldemir was able to hold his own against the big body of Timofey Mozgov.

Defensively, he got pushed around a little more than what would be ideal, but this was to be expected from a guy who is generally the ninth or 10th option off the bench. But offensively, Aldemir found himself in great position on the boards for put-back opportunities, which helped contribute to hitting 5-of-6 field goals.

As Brown indicated, this is the starting lineup we can expect to see from this point forward. It certainly seems to be playing away from Philly’s strengths by pushing Noel away from the immediate paint, but it’s key to have an idea of whether or not Noel will be able to co-exist with Embiid as a power forward before the offseason hits.

Next: NBA: 50 Greatest Players Of All Time

76ers’ New-Look Frontcourt Features Nerlens Noel And Furkan Aldemir

By Cody Daniel | Mar 30, 2015

More from Hoops Habit