Should Philadelphia 76ers Flip Noel With Okafor?

Bret Stuter

Dec 1, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward

(4) and center

(8) celebrate a score against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers won 103-91. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Should Philadelphia 76ers Flip Noel With Okafor?

The moment Jahlil Okafor was drafted, and the rumors of trading him were squelched, the reality hit that Jahlil Okafor would play as the starting center of the Philadelphia 76ers. He was Duke’s center, is big and has an excellent post game, and he has the physicality to rock and roll under the basket.

Nerlens Noel WAS the Sixers center, but with the concept of a returning Joel Embiid, and then with the news of drafting Okafor, was professional enough to train at the four position, attempt to develop a mid range shot, and be a team player. The goal was to have Okafor and Noel pair up into a dominating presence in the post. So far, that pairing has not yet gained any traction. When they play together, Noel cannot use his defensive skills at the post, and Okafor continues to set up in the post. Noel hasn’t gotten that perimeter shot down, in fact, he doesn’t shoot from beyond the arc. Nada.

Now please don’t misread me. Three pointers are NOT a bread and butter shot for the power forward, and likely never will be. Their role is to help defend the basket, and on the offensive boards to space sufficiently to allow lanes of penetration, or a pass turn and pop from mid-range. The double-edged sword effect, however, is losing Noel’s uncanny shot blocking ability if he moves to the four spot. How to fix that? Innovative thinking. And innovation means doing what others would not do.

Next: Bright Brown

Nov 21, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown talks with his players during a timeout in the first half of game action against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Bright Brown

76ers head coach Brett Brown is considering giving Jahlil Okafor more time at power forward while playing Nerlens Noel at center more.

"““It’s not even borne out losing. It’s borne out of just having an opportunity to watch these guys play more and more. When you have this new group and you’re trying to let those two guys co-exist, there’s a lot of moving parts that we can learn from,” Brown said. “It’s a challenge, but that’s my job.” – head coach Brett Brown"

Brown would like to take advantage of Okafor’s shooting touch from the elbow, and it’s obvious that Noel is much better when he is closer to the basket. The 76ers staggered their minutes against Charlotte and they played just 11 minutes together in the loss, so there was an expectation to see that trend continuing to move forward.

Hail Hail The Gang’s All Here!

As he was eased back into play as the team’s starting center, the team was also in the process of reactivating returning-to-health players like Kendall Marshall, Robert Covington, Tony Wroten, and Carl Landry. Each player’s arrival meant a new roster, new allocation of minutes, and a reason NOT to experiment with the four and five spots. But the team was not looking internally for opportunities, but externally as well. As Christmas approached, the Sixers announced a trade of two second round picks to the New Orleans Pelicans for point guard Ish Smith. To make room, the Sixers waived point guard Tony Wroten.

It is the return of Ish Smith that has renewed this topic. Ish played very well with Nerlens Noel last year, in fact, well enough to generate headliner quotes:

"“I love that kid. He just finds me whenever I’m open and honestly, he’s the first true point-guard I’ve ever really played with. And you know, he said I’m one of the alley-oop men–big men–he’s played with. So I think we compliment each other so well.” – Nerlens Noel March 2015."

Smith joined the team after they had dealt Michael Carter-Williams, and his game made Brett Brown sit up and take notice:

"“He (Ish Smith) wants the ball. I’m at a stage where I have confidence that he’s going to step up and not be intimidated by the moment. He’s not afraid of shooting a free throw. I think it’s a reflection of his growth, which has allowed me to have the confidence that I have in him.” – Brett Brown interview March 2015"

And so, a player who likely should never been released was brought back to the team. But the immediate question is why?

Next: What is Ish Smith's Role

Dec 28, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Ish Smith (1) defended by Utah Jazz guard

Elijah Millsap

(13) in second half action at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Jazz won 95-91. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

What Ish Smith’s role?

So when the team made the move to sign up Ish Smith, it was an effort to solidify a keystone to virtually any basketball team – the point guard spot. This is not to say the likes of T.J. McConnell or Kendall Marshall should be dealt. They are developing players who have great upside. But this team cannot have every position in the NBA apprentice stage. Each position needs to have a player with developed skills, whose play is solid. Does it need to be the best of at this point in time? No. But it cannot be a team comprised of youth alone. So the Philadelphia 76ers struck a deal. Two second round picks for one point guard.

Ish Smith “makes it go” offensively. According to NBA.com’s stats database, the Pelicans had an offensive rating of 105.1 with Smith on the floor, which pales in comparison to their mark of 101.3 with him on the bench. As a point of reference, an offensive rating of 105.1 would rank as the fourth-best overall behind the Golden State Warriors, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs. That’s what he brought to the Pelicans. For two second round picks. ALSO ON SIXER SENSE: The Philadelphia 76ers Are Better Without Jahlil Okafor Not only has the return of Ish Smith re-energized the team. Not only has the team solidified it’s veteran compliment to a very young team. But the return of Ish Smith to the team has resparked the contemplation of how to best use Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel. With Smith, Noel has already an established repertoire. Noel’s offense grows rapidly under Ish Smith’s sunlamp style of play. One of the drawbacks to Noel at the five is the offense of that roster.

Next: A Tall Oak Tree

Nov 6, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward

Kevin Love

(0) fights for a rebound with Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor (8) and forward Nerlens Noel (4) during the second quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

A Tall Oak Tree

Jahlil Okafor has sat out the past two games with a knee injury. In those two games, the Sixers have been very competitive – defeating a Phoenix Suns team on the road and losing in the last seconds to a Utah Jazz team in Utah. In the two games, center Nerlens Noel averaged 16 points per game on 87.5% accuracy from the floor, 3.5 blocks per game, and 8.5 rebounds per game. Even his steals per game have improved greatly to 2.5 steals per game. Small sample, but great numbers. Okafor in comparison averages 17.6 PPG on 45.8% accuracy, 1.3 BPG, 7.9 RPG, with just .3 SPG. This is not to say Jahlil Okafor should be benched. He’s earned minutes on this or any other NBA team. It’s just that the team may need to be more creative to get meaningful minutes for both players on this team. Can Okafor make the transition? On offense, Okafor could be more suited for the PF spot than Noel. Okafor has a much better shooting touch, face-up game, and post-game. Noel’s bread and butter shots are putbacks and alley oops, both better from close range to the rim. It just so happens that is the same neighborhood where his elite rim protection thrives as well. You would be wise to point out the counter-argument, how Okafor does not have much lateral quickness and will get burned repeatedly by small-ball PF’s. ALSO ON SIXER SENSE: Potential Realized With Philadelphia 76ers 2016 Lineup But a small ball PF will not score nowhere near as effectively on Okafor with Noel sitting back at the rim ready to reject the shot. Okafor would play well on them in the post on the other side of the court. Regardless of getting past Jahlil, and no matter how many times they do so, their efforts around the Oak will place them in the vicinity of Noel at the rim. The Dallas Mavericks run slow-footed Dirk Nowitzki from the four and have for many years. The team, and Nowitzki, have played well. Eventually, the team will have a new and even more athletic player to factor into the mix when Joel Embiid gets healthy. At that point, can the Sixers work three big men into meaningful minutes from the same team? 2016 is less than a year away. The questions about that team need to be answered now by this team.

Should the Sixers try Okafor at the four spot?
— The Sixer Sense (@SixerSense) December 29, 2015

I think Brown knows that and will experiment more with this roster. The greatest discoveries in history happened by experimentation of curious minds.

Bret Stuter

Bret Stuter is the site expert for Ramblin Fan who has covered the Los Angeles Rams for 5 years. Swept up into loving professional sports from a family that listened to games on the radio, he is at home cheering for HC Sean McVay and the Rams. Articles have been featured on B/R, Fox Sports, CBS Sports, Sporting News, and Washington Post. Bret loves to fish, and watch games at sports bars over pizza.