Nerlens Noel is coming off a promising rookie season with the Philadelphia 76ers. Noel mostly played center in his first NBA season but towards the end of the year he was moved to power forward as Philadelphia was anticipating a return from Joel Embiid in 2015-16. Embiid won't be back but the 76ers drafted Jahlil Okafor so Noel will likely have to play power forward full time this season and because of that he is reportedly working on his jump shot this offseason, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Noel was particularly effective in his rookie season when he was playing the center position but wasn't as effective as the power forward. Noel came into the league as a defensive guy first but was considered very raw offensively. In order to improve his offensive game Noel is reportedly spending two hours a day on his shooting form and getting up at least 500 jump shots per day.
Noel may be entering a make or break year as Okafor is now in town and is going to be the starting center and Embiid is supposedly coming back next season. Embiid's health is far from a guarantee but if he were to come back healthy in 2016-17 the 76ers would have three young big men with only two starting spots so Noel is going to have to prove this season that he belongs as a starter.
In his rookie season the 6 foot-11 big man averaged 9.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, and 1.8 steals per game. Noel filled up the box score on a nightly basis for the 76ers a year ago but the problem was that he only shot 46 percent from the field. 46 percent is by no means awful but for a big guy that takes the majority of his shots around the rim that is a number that definitely needs to improve.
Noel seems to know what's at stake for him this season and is working extremely hard to improve his game and prove he deserves to be a starter for the 76ers. The way Okafor and Noel are able to work together this upcoming season will say a lot about who gets more playing time if and when Embiid is finally healthy.
