Can Nerlens Noel Improve Offensively This Year?

Apr 8, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Nerlens Noel (4) goes for a shot against Washington Wizards forward Kris Humphries (43) during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Wizards won 119-90. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Nerlens Noel was the best defensive player from his draft class as a rookie last season. Okay, that’s up for debate, but I don’t know many people who would argue the opinion that the Philadelphia 76ers’ power forward was the best defensive rookie.

In fact, Noel seemed to master a lost art in the NBA last year, the “reverse posterization.” When players tried to dunk on Noel, he showed them that they couldn’t. One of the best defensive players around the league last year was his huge stuff on James Harden.

With his 5.7 defensive rebounds last season, as well as 1.8 steals and 1.9 blocks per game, he’s got the stats to back up that he was a defensive monster, and a real trouble to teams who were looking to get in the paint last year.

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Unfortunately, he was lacking on the other side of the floor. He was able to nearly average 10 points per game, a good amount, but a majority of his shots were very close to the hoop, within 10 feet.

The Sixers as a team struggled offensively. In fact, they were one of the worst teams in the league in this realm. Based on offensive ratings, they were last in the league. This clearly calls for more players on the team to step up and start producing more points.

Although shooting isn’t necessarily his job as a power forward, this league is calling more and more for an offensively skilled four spot. I would like to see him become more of a shooter, and rely less on lobs from his teammates.

Here’s some potential ways he could improve his offensive contribution.

Next: Close Range Game