Photo: Philly.com
Nerlens Noel has looked great in the NBA Summer League so far and he has gone far beyond just his defense to show how much he has improved his game after sitting out last NBA season.
Kurt Helin of NBC Sports thinks he could be the best rookie in the NBA Summer League.
The box score says Nerlens Noel had four blocks Monday night against the Cavaliers.
That doesn’t do his game justice.
His length and leaping ability make him an intimidating force in the paint. The guys on the Sixers bench were counting the number of shots Noel altered and said it got into double digits before they lost track.
“When the guards start being a little more timid on their drives and they start shooting a lot more floaters then I know I’m the reason,” Noel said.
It wasn’t the only thing Noel did well in his Vegas debut. He is hard to keep off the glass. He plays with more physicality than you would expect — he’s thin but will push and not back down (he doesn’t have the base to push around the strongest in the NBA, but he’s not a lightweight either). He chipped in a dozen points.
Still, it was the defense that gets your attention — at one point he sent an Anthony Bennett shot flying with a “Whose you’re No. 1 pick now?” intent.
Call it the “Blake Griffin effect” if you want, but Noel looks like the best player in Las Vegas. He’s a guy Sixers fans — and Michael Carter Williams (his old AAU teammate) — are going to love. Even if there is still plenty of raw there.
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I think Nerlens will be one of the favorites to win NBA Rookie of the Year and as long as he stays away from injury, one of the future great big men in the League.
