Ish Smith is back with the Philadelphia 76ers, and fans are wondering: Who will start alongside him, Jahlil Okafor or Nerlens Noel?
Last week I wrote a piece that had to do with my stance on the comparison of Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel. This week I will talk about not who’s better or who we should keep, but who is best served to start the game with newly acquired starting point guard and ex-Philadelphia 76er Ish Smith.
When it comes to successful basketball, talent matters a lot but that’s not all that matters. A successful team needs players who have chemistry and play styles that compliment one another. The reason the 2012-13 Los Angeles Lakers who had Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Dwight Howard all in the same lineup failed to become championship contenders wasn’t because they lacked talent, it was because those players did not have chemistry and their play styles didn’t fit.
It is well known among 76ers fans the effect Smith had on the team and specifically Noel the first time he was acquired in February of this year. Pre All-Star break before Smith was on the team, Noel averaged 8.2 points per game, 7.2 rebounds per game, 1.7 blocks per game, and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 44.5 percent from the field according to ESPN.com. While those numbers are fine for a once raw and 20 year old rookie big man, his numbers skyrocketed when Smith was added to the team. This is evidenced by his post-All-Star break numbers of 13.1 points per game, 10.0 rebounds per game, 2.3 blocks per game, and 2.1 steals per game while shooting 48.7 percent from the field according to ESPN.com.
In Smith’s first game back on the team on Saturday night, Noel posted similar numbers to the ones he posted Post All-Star break with a line of 14 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 3 steals while going 6-7 from the field. It is now firmly established that Smith and Noel are a great one-two punch. But what about Okafor?
While Smith tends to have an effect on everyone and make his teammates play better, I don’t think he will help Okafor as much as he helps Noel. What makes Smith and Noel so compatible is the fact the are both very quick and explosive compared to the average player at their respective positions. While Okafor is very nimble and has a quick first step, he is not as explosive as Noel when it comes to leaping or as fast in the open court so Smith won’t have the option of throwing all of the lobs he throws up to Noel, to Okafor. Smith and Noel play more of a fast paced full court offense while Okafor is more of a slow it down half-court offense.
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This is the reason I believe Noel should start over Okafor. Not because I think he is better, but because they do not play effective basketball when in the same lineup, they both play best at the center position, and if Smith is going to be the starter at point guard from now on, the 76ers need to start with him the center that meshes best with him which is most likely Noel. The reason I say “most likely” instead of “for sure” is because we have not seen Smith and Okafor play together yet so one could never know how it could turn out, but on the surface Smith and Noel is a lot more compatible than Smith and Okafor.
There are 48 minutes to go around at the center position per game. I think both Noel and Okafor should have 24 minutes each at the center spot per game and that they should only be together for another six minutes at the end of each game. This way they are both playing starters minutes (30 minutes per game) but not getting in each other’s way. In the case they do play together in those final six crunch time minutes, it would be wise for Head Coach Brett Brown to put Okafor at power forward because that position is usually required to be a lot more skilled offensively than the center position and Okafor is certainly more skilled offensively than Noel.
Noel should be at center at the end of games because that position is usually asked to be more defensive than the power forward spot and as we all know, defense and rim protection is Noel’s bread and butter. This way even if a quicker power forward gets past Okafor he will have to meet Noel at the rim which is a much better situation than if it was the other way around.
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Okafor won’t be slighted though because he would come off the bench with Kendall Marshall who not only is as good a passer as Smith, but is much more half-court oriented than Smith which fits Okafor’s play style like a glove. Also he provides more spacing with his three point jump shot than Smith as evidenced by his 37.3% career percentage from the 3-point range while Smith is a mere 27% career 3-point shooter. Marshall’s shooting gives Okafor more space to operate in the post. Having the two tandems of Marshall/Okafor and Smith/Noel would make for a 76ers team that has a formidable lineup all game long whether it is the starters or the bench.