Making an impact
Nerlens Noel’s defensive skills help the Thunder.
Nerlens Noel sat in front of his locker, elbows on his knees, a heat pack draped over his shoulders, head drooping. It was mid-November in Sacramento, and the Thunder would soon announce that he had been scratched from the lineup due to illness.
The news of Russell Westbrook’s return overshadowed the second unit center’s absence before the game, but as the Kings pulled ahead it became clear how much OKC missed Noel.
“Losing Nerlens is big,” Thunder forward Paul George said after the loss, “especially for a game like tonight where they do a good job of offensive rebounding and attacking the rim. We lost one of the better rim protectors in this league, so that’s where it hurt us most.”
Noel does in fact rank among the NBA's top 10 in blocks per 100 possessions (4.5). When examining box scores, Noel, who is averaging 13.4 minutes per game, doesn’t generally jump off the page, but he consistently makes an impact outside of points, rebounds and assists.
Noel's skill set becomes all the more important in a matchup like Monday’s in Detroit. The Pistons are the second-best offensive rebounding team in the league (12.9 per game), and points in the paint account for 44.6 percent of their scoring.
“Go out there and be a game-changer,” Noel said last week of how he can make the biggest impact
on the floor. “I feel like I can bring so much to the court when I’m on there, just defensively, offensively, just being in that pick-and roll, getting back, making the small little plays that change the game throughout.”
On Friday against the Hawks, he did that with two blocks and three steals.
For his first steal of the night, Noel jumped in front of the Hawks’ John Collins to knock away an inbound pass. Recognizing that Thunder point guard Dennis Schroder could get to the loose ball, Noel ran to the other end of the court and sneaked behind Atlanta guard Trae Young. Schroder send a lob over Young’s head, and Noel caught it above the rim for an alley-oop.
When he wasn’t picking off passes, Noel was often at the rim, timing his leaps well, getting a hand between Hawks and the basket.
“He’s really active,” coach Billy Donovan said after the game. “I mean, he’s bouncy, he’s lively. He gives Dennis and Russell opportunities when he’s rolling to the rim. He can kind of put it up there. He gets out of pick-and-rolls really, really well. He’s really good with his hands. I think tonight he played a quietly really good game.”
On the offensive end of the floor, Noel went 6-of-7. But his 14 points, no matter how efficient, didn’t carry the same vibrato of the 20-plus point performances of three of his teammates.
Noel has topped his scoring Friday just once this season. The blocks, steals and pickand-roll involvement on both ends, that’s just what Noel does.