Returning to the lineup after missing a few games with a wrist injury, Nerlens Noel recorded a grand total of zero blocks this weekend in Oklahoma City and San Antonio. None, nada, bupkis. This fact didn’t go lost on his coach.
“If he is anything, he is a rim protector,” Brett Brown said. “He is a shot-blocker. And some of that [lack of shot-blocking] is borne out of his position.”
Noel might be a rim protector first and foremost, but the Sixers are comfortable with playing him at the 4 because he can affect the game defensively in a lot of ways. Still, his shot-blocking is down from 2.2 blocks per 36 minutes to 1.5 in the early going.
An adjustment was to be expected, especially because Noel has to chase the NBA’s many stretch-4s on the perimeter. Tonight against the Dallas Mavericks, he will have to deal with perhaps the greatest stretch-4 of all-time and a guy who is still shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc at the age of 37. NBD.
That blistering shooting is coming on almost four attempts per game, too. As Brown said, “Dirk doesn’t go close to the rim very much lately.”
For his part, Noel thinks he has done well defensively this season. The offense is still a major work in progress, but the on-off numbers show that he’s right: For Sixers’ opponents, 99.6 points per 100 possessions (equivalent to a Top-3 defense) turns to 112.5 (worst in league) when Noel leaves the floor. It’s still early and those numbers should normalize a little, but yeah…
“At the 4 position, I think I’m doing a decent job of attacking rollers and then getting back to my man at the three-point line,” Noel said. “I think Dirk will be the toughest task, so I’ll definitely be more mindful of that.”
As the Sixers try to get that elusive first win, this should be the matchup to watch. A veteran of the very competitive San Antonio-Dallas I-35 rivalry, Brown sure knows what Nowitzki is capable of. He still sees the future Hall of Famer destroying switches by taking smaller guards to the free-throw line and shooting over them.
“He’s still masterful in that part of the floor,” Brown said. “His shot ability is amazing.”
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