Nerlens Noel is set to make his regular-season debut for the Philadelphia 76ers later this week.
Which means the Sixers’ epically clunky frontcourt logjam is inching closer and closer toward full strength.
Woooooooooot.
From Philly Mag’s Derek Bodner:
Sixers center Nerlens Noel, who underwent surgery to repair an inflamed plica in his left knee on October 25th, is expected to return to Philadelphia later this week to continue his rehabilitation, a source with knowledge of the situation informed Philadelphia magazine.
If Noel returns and plays well, expect the rumor mill to go buck wild with trade rumors. The Sixers already have Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor to balance at the center position, and playing any of these three at power forward, a bad idea to begin with, becomes next to impossible once Ben Simmons is healthy, with Dario Saric, Ersan Ilyasova and Richaun Holmes all already in the fold.
In the interim, before the Sixers make a trade we all know is coming, Noel should be able to help shore up the defense. The Sixers rank 25th in points allowed per 100 possessions, but they’re actually pretty okay when Embiid is on the floor, according to NBA.com.
With both him and Noel able to protect the rim and switch onto smaller, quicker players, the Sixers have a puncher’s chance in hell of deploying a fairly stingy unit for most of the game. So, you know, yay.
