Nerlens Noel’s Fitness
Nerlens Noel is a fantastic defender. He is also an absolute hustler. As a rookie, Nerlens anchored one of the scrappiest and hard-working defenses in the NBA.
Thus, my only explanation for Nerlens’ inconsistent defensive activity this season is his fitness level. At just 326 minutes played so far this season, Noel is visibly not in typical NBA condition just yet.
In many cases, we do see peak Nerlens. Here, Nerlens defends the pick and roll as beautifully as can be done – he stunts at the ball handler to prevent the jump shot but recovers to contest the layup.
This exact sequence is what pays Nerlens’ salary. Very few big men possess the quickness and awareness to dismantle a pick and roll in such a manner. For that reason, it’s concerning when Nerlens turns in half-willed defensive exchanges such as these.
I’ve also seen Nerlens being over-zealous on picking the pocket of penetrators – a sign that usually means a player is too tired to move their feet.
On the year, opponents are shooting 52.4 percent at the rim when Nerlens is defending, the 17th best measure in the NBA. The Sixers allow 106.4 points per 100 possessions when Nerlens is on the court – which would measure as the 6th best mark in the NBA – compared to 111 when both Noel and Embiid are off. Make no mistake, Nerlens Noel is still an elite defender. But I’d like to see more of Nerlens Noel from the previous two years that nails two or three perfect rotations on each possession without missing a beat.