OKC Thunder is the perfect rehab centre for Nerlens Noel
By Gideon Lim
Rim protection:
On most teams, Noel’s penchant for shot-blocking would be noted with an asterisk. Not so with the Thunder.
Defensive-minded NBA centers have arguably been hit the hardest by modern tactical evolution. As the last line of defense, centers no longer have the leeway to chase blocks, knowing they have another big man in the paint covering for them. The Thunder’s own Steven Adams best embodies perfectly this modern emphasis on making reads and challenging without committing.
Luckily for Noel, the Thunder just re-signed the perfect complement for him on defense. Jerami Grant is almost a smaller version of Noel – an intimidating rim protector who’s also comfortable switching out on the perimeter. Putting both of them together allows each of them a greater margin of error when defending the paint, knowing that the other can switch on their man should they get caught chasing blocks. This means that Noel has the space to take on this evolution without having his regular habits result in glaring, unforgivable mistakes.
Perimeter defense:
Most around the league know about Noel’s solid lateral quickness. Seeing it in person, however, paints a much more enthralling picture.
Noel is not just comfortable switching out onto the perimeter. Noel is flat out the most dangerous steal machine among the NBA’s big men. For perspective, his career steal percentage is 3.0 percent. That’s good for fourth overall in the league, better than Robert Covington, Paul George and Chris Paul.
Granted, you don’t exactly want your center gambling on steals. But Noel comes to the Thunder after two seasons under Rick Carlisle‘s tutelage, who specifically focused on teaching Noel how to best weaponize his thieving instincts. And, as TI broke down before the offseason, the Thunder’s defense – Suicide Squad, (as I dubbed it) – is more suited than anyone else for ramping up the pressure on ball-handlers. Indeed, these are exciting times ahead for the Thunder.
Hard running and rolling:
You know the tide has turned when DeAndre Jordan’s offense is called a ‘given’, and his defense is ‘fluctuating’. Luckily for Noel, his offensive skillset has found the perfect home.
Look at Noel set a high pick for his point guard, then ram hard towards the rim, keeping his body open all the time for the thunderous lob. This play is literally the first play out of Billy Donovan‘s playbook for Westbrook and Adams. And Westbrook is the best point guard Noel has ever played with. In all frankness, if there is anything about his game that is set to be a ‘given’, this is it.
The beautiful thing about this fit is how Noel will mesh with the second unit. With Raymond Felton back in the fold, Thunder fans can already start to reformulate how the bench will function. Felton is a safety-first self-gunner. He works best when he has space to work and a simple roving aerial target to hit. As one of our earlier film reviews showed, hard rim runners like Adams are the league’s secret source of floor spacing. The fact that the Thunder’s offense is built around a “one-dimensional” offensive center like Adams is perfect for Noel. He doesn’t need to learn complex set actions. Master the basics of screening and rolling, and the plaudits should start flowing in nicely.
Heat check:
Just a note of caution, however. There’s a reason why Jerami Grant is nowhere close to the rim-runner Steven Adams is. The two of them are the perfect example of why running effective lobs goes beyond athleticism. Everything starts with the screen – setting hard screens, and setting well-angled screens.
Throughout his career, Nerlens Noel never quite picked up the art of setting screens. As seen from the previous clip, he mostly leans on beating down the court, rather than taking his opponent out of the play. Learning the latter should be the first course of homework for him.
These three areas should form the baseline expectations for Thunder fans. Master it, and Noel can reasonably expect a decent pay raise next year.
That said, I think Noel can afford to aim a little higher too.