Nerlens Noel Is On Fire, And Going To Be Tough To Beat With Ish Smith

Nerlens Noel has had a lackluster season so far, that is, until Ish Smith came onto the team and started setting him up nicely with opportunties to score.

As soon as NBA commisioner Adam Silver read Jahlil Okafor’s name at the 2015 NBA Draft, questions arose for Philadelphia 76ers fans regarding the front court and the several centers that the Sixers had in their possesion. At the time, it wasn’t to fans’ knowledge that Joel Embiid–who had missed the previous season–was going to be injured for a second full consecutive season, so the questions were even larger than they would be a few weeks later. But a few weeks later, when fans did know that, the questions would still be there.

It was a huge question mark regarding Noel and Okafor. How will these two pair together? Do you try and move one to power forward and one to center, and play them together? Or do you attempt to play them both at different times, attempting to give them both starter caliber minutes? It seemed like even if Nerlens Noel didn’t work out as a power forward spot–it didn’t work out–the Sixers would have a solid backup plan trying to play them in different lineups.

But the complications of not having guards that cater to Nerlens and Okafor–Kendall Marshall can only play so many minutes per game–made this plan bust at first as well. But then came Ish Smith, who the Sixers traded for on Christmas Eve.

In the first part of the season, as a power forward, and without Ish, Noel averaged just 9.8 points, and 7.8 rebounds per game. Since the Sixers have acquired Ish Smith, Noel is doing much better, averaging 16.8 points, and 9.5 rebounds per game.

Ish Smith was with the team for part of last year, and as a Sixer, he averaged 6.1 assists per game, and was known for setting up Nerlens Noel nicely and allowing him to score 13.3 points per game (once Ish was in town). This year, he’s already improving Nerlens’ stats once again, and making him a valubale player, rather than one in the shadows of Jahlil Okafor and his constant 15-point games.

With Ish back, though, Noel is back to his old ways, and back to being that offensive player that got people excited last year. Pairing Smith with Noel pushes both players to their full potentials.

Since Smith’s first game in Philly against the Phoenix Suns, Noel has averaged over 12 points per game. Smith has averaged 7.0 assists per game.

Roy Hibbert attempted to stop the duo when they came to town to face the Lakers, but the task was nearly impossible. There were a few good plays where he boxed Nerlens out of the key, and Smith was forced to take a shot that he didn’t want to take, or make a pass not to Nerlens, but for the most part, the Noel option worked, despite the amount of times it was attempted.

Noel ended the game with 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Ish had three assists.

It did seem like the option to go to Noel was practiced several times, and one has to wonder if teams will pick up on it eventually. We have to assume they will, but it seems like it will at least be pretty difficult to shut them down.

Noel shoots about 30 percent better when Ish is on the floor, and about 20 percent better at the rim. Those lobs must be working.

And lastly, a team record that has a winning percentage leaps and bounds better with the Ish Smith and Nerlens Noel combination than without is hard to argue against.

Teams may figure out how to defend this, but for now, Noel is on fire, and Ish is the reason.