The Philadelphia 76ers have stated that they may hold out their #1 pick Nerlens Noel for the entire season so that he can completely heal from his ACL tear. That’s not a terrible idea, since the team isn’t supposed to contend this year, and his absence will help the team get a better draft pick. And besides, Blake Griffin sat for an entire year and that hasn’t hurt his career at all.
While out, the Sixers may re-tool his jumpshot. They will certainly have the time. But he’s wasn’t that dynamic of a scorer in college so we’ll see how much he actually uses it.
“I think we have the perfect environment to do it because we have a whole year,” Brown said. “We have taken him back to doing a lot of one-handed shooting. I can sense that he is shooting with two hands behind my back. But when he does that, the off hand comes in and elbows start flying. But when he does just one hand, he gets his elbow under it and it is a good looking shot….
“It is his future,” Brown said of Noel investing time in his shooting technique. “The first place you start is the free throw line because now he is going to turn and face. He really likes Kevin Garnett, a turn-and-face, jump-shooting big, and he aspires to be one of them even though he is a post player initially. I think the free throw is what carries over to the other parts of the game. And I hope we can get that right.”
H/T: CSN Philly
