Nerlens Noel: Philadelphia 76ers' Silver Lining

All season long, the Philadelphia 76ers struggled to break through in the Eastern Conference and will instead be picking in the lottery once again, as by the design of general manager Sam Hinkie and the rest of the front office.

More from Philadelphia 76ers

Even though there’s a good number of fans that understand this process of trying to draft star players to build around for the future, it’s still not the most appealing strategy to fans who want to come and watch the Sixers play.

Showing up night in and night out for a team that only ends up losing most of its games isn’t a treat for season ticket holders, yet the Sixers claim to know what they’re doing, and are instead pushing people to recognize other silver linings in the season besides the team’s record.

Two of those silver linings actually go hand-in-hand, as the team’s defense has been a huge bright spot this season thanks in no small part to the play of rookie center Nerlens Noel.

Noel was originally acquired by the Sixers from the New Orleans Pelicans in a 2013 draft trade that sent Jrue Holiday among others away from the team in exchange for Noel and draft choices, signaling a true rebuild in Philadelphia.

Jun 27, 2013; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Nerlens Noel (Kentucky) poses with NBA commissioner David Stern after being selected as the number six overall pick to the New Orleans Pelicans during the 2013 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /

Due to injury, Noel sat the entire 2013-14 season in favor of being cautious and taking time to develop other parts of his game. Head coach Brett Brown completely broke Noel’s shot down and also worked with him to begin to develop go-to moves in the post.

Noel took his time and got into proper shape, and came in ready to play this season.

Sixers fans were expecting a lot from Noel off the bat because of the team’s dismal record, and things didn’t go well at first. The team lost its first 17 games of the season, and Noel looked lost on both ends of the floor. He did still put up 8.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game before the All-Star break, but he wasn’t an effective scorer from the field, only hitting on 44.5 percent of his shots with an offensive rating of 89, terrible numbers for any big man in the league.

Fast forward to after the All-Star break, and Noel began playing like a completely different player. All of his stats took jumps. He averaged over two steals and two blocks per game over that stretch, his shooting and offensive rating rose to 48.7 percent and 105, respectively, and he averaged 13.1 points and 10 rebounds per game — all great numbers that show the kind of versatility he’s capable of.

Apr 8, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Nerlens Noel (4) dribbles against the Washington Wizards at Wells Fargo Center. The Wizards won 119-90. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

This happens with young players, as there seems to eventually just be a point where everything clicks. Whether it’s through their own personal development of go-to moves or they just become more comfortable with operating in certain areas and have adjusted to the speed of the game, there’s just a time when the light bulb goes on, and that happened for Noel sooner rather than later.

With how raw Noel looked offensively coming out of college, it wasn’t an afterthought to think that he could struggle making a real two-way impact before his second or even third season in the league. Thankfully, he flashed some real potential this season, starting with his jump shot.

Noel’s best shooting percentage came within three feet of the basket, as he shot 66.2 percent inside, a good number for a finisher like him. Where the real progress was made was in his midrange game, as his 30.9 percent shooting from 10 feet out is nothing to sneeze at.

For a player that had no jump shot in high school or college, he really began to take pride in that shot and make it work for his team this season. Any player that can make over 30 percent of their attempts with a completely rebuilt shot in its first season of use is on their way to having an impact from that area for years to come. If Noel can continue to improve upon that shot and make it a more consistent weapon in his arsenal, then he could be a dangerous offensive talent moving forward.

Outside of his improvements shooting the basketball, Noel has continued to evolve his ball-handling abilities. He’s really started to put the ball on the floor and take his man off the dribble, finishing with a variety of moves around the basket. The more Noel can handle the ball in the halfcourt as well as make plays for others, the more attention he will be able to draw, freeing up other players for open shots on the perimeter. Whether it’s with a dunk or a fancy layup, Noel’s emergence as a shot creator down low has opened up a whole new world for him offensively.

Defense is where Noel really shines, however. Noel is one of the most active players in the league on that end of the floor, always reading plays, playing passing lanes and switching and helping on defense to shift over and block or challenge the opposing team’s shots.

His footwork and athleticism are what make all of this possible because of how easily he moves both in transition and in the halfcourt. Noel’s footwork may not be complete on the offensive end, but defensively he knows how to shift himself all over the floor to be effective and make an impact.

Defense isn’t played by using your body and flailing your arms all over the place hoping to get some kind of deflection. The best defense is played by using your feet to stay in front of defenders and not letting them get by you so they instead have to challenge making shots over you, not up-and-under you.

Noel doesn’t let anyone score around him. If you’re trying to score on Noel in the post, you’re going to have to go over him, a problem that a lot of opposing players have had because of his size and length.

Noel isn’t easy to go against on a nightly basis, as he is a true anchor on the defensive end. In fact, when he’s been on the floor for the Sixers in the second half of the season, they’ve had the best defense by three points per 100 possessions over the Golden State Warriors, the NBA‘s true defensive juggernaut.

Yes, other players have began to develop and chip in to the team’s success, and everyone does play hard for Brown, but Noel has had an unreal impact for this team defensively, and has started to show a lot of promise on the offensive end.

If the Sixers don’t keep him around along with Joel Embiid, then they’re doing something wrong. Noel is going to compete with Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert for best post defender in the league for years to come, so having him stick around is probably one of the best things the team can do moving forward.

Welcome to the league, Noel. And congratulations for being one of the Sixers’ few silver linings.

Next: Lottery Unlikely To Go 76ers' Way

Nerlens Noel: Philadelphia 76ers’ Silver Lining

By Nathan Grubel | Apr 17, 2015

More from Hoops Habit